Written in the Stars
by Casual Fire
Summary: They all had their big dreams: Of being Hokage and Revenge. But not her. She was just the strange girl with a secret past, and a dark one at that. And when her teammates start to dig into that past they will find that she truly doesn't have a dream. They'll discover that her fate is written in the stars. SasuXOC
1. The Introvert

**-A/N-**

**I know, **_**another **_**story...but I feel like there aren't enough enough SasukeXOC stories out there.**

**Good news though, I **_**should **_**be updating both BOTW and REDEMPTION within the next week or so. Feel free to check those out if you haven't yet. The first one is Death Note fic and the second is a LokiXOC. **

**I'll say this now: ****Do no expect frequent and/or scheduled updates. I'm more motivated to write by the number of reviews I receive, like, sometimes I'll literally FORGET about my story. **

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcomed. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki entered Iruka's classroom ten minutes early, closely followed by her canine companion. They made their way to the back of the room, Yuki plopping down in her usual seat and her dog lying on the floor beside her. This was routine for the white haired girl and her hound, and had been for the last three years. At first she had started coming to class early to avoid the attention. Not many people had white hair this young and she had never met another person with the same violet eyes as her, so it would turn every head on the classroom when she walked in. Getting there before anyone else saved her the trouble and guaranteed the spot in the back on the room. At least then she knew people weren't staring at her back. Yuki fingered the headband hanging from her neck absently, nodding to her Sensei politely. Iruka greeted her with a proud smile, his eyes filled with relief. Yuki suspected that he hadn't expected her to show for the test. She had terrible attendance and had expressed to him on several occasions her discomfort with the idea of becoming a shinobi. Though now she could see the relief and pride he felt in her decision. Yuki, after all, was the second best in the class. It would be a waste of talent if she didn't become a Shinobi.

She turned her attention from Iruka to the window and the village beyond. Her eyes slipped from person to person as they entered the room, examining the new Shinobi excitedly gathering in the yard and shuffling into class, landing on the Uchiha as he approached, noting his brooding stare. She examined Nara and Akimichi, then the Hyuuga girl - everyone she was expecting to graduate. Then her eyes widened as a loud Naruto burst into the room grinning from ear to ear. Slowly a small smile crossed her face.

_So he managed to make it, too. Good for him._

Yuki's smile vanished as soon as Ino and Sakura pushed their way into the room screaming at each other, both claiming to have been the first in. Yuki didn't particularly like either of them - not that she hated them, she didn't really hate anyone, but the two girls had always rubbed her the wrong way. _Especially_ when they gave her crap about having short hair.

Sakura stomped her way over to Naruto, demanding to have the boy's seat; she wanted to sit next to Sasuke, but Naruto refused loudly, so she forced him out and threw him to the ground. Naturally, Naruto had a fit. Yuki rolled her eyes at Naruto's reaction - he leapt up onto Sasuke's desk and glared down at him, his teeth bared in a snarl. Seconds later, their faces crashed together, and Yuki tried in vain to block out the chorus of angry girls that followed.

This was going to be a long day.

Eventually Iruka grabbed the attention of the class, congratulating them all on passing. He then began to list off squads of three.

"Ok. And the members of Squad 7 will be made up of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Yuki Suzume." She cocked her head to the side curiously, ignoring the reactions of Naruto and Sakura.

"I thought you were only doing teams of three?" It was Shikamaru who spoke up.

"We have an even number of graduates this year, so there will be one four man team - Squad 7," Iruka explained, then continued assigning people to their new teams. Yuki tuned him out, no longer required to pay attention. It was odd, the combination of their squad. An angry jerk, a misguided fan-girl, a hyperactive dropout, and an anti-social introvert.

_Well, _she wondered, resting her head on her palm, _at least things will be interesting._

* * *

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate... well I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies- I have lots of hobbies."

Yuki resisted the urge to smile at the Jonin. She was familiar with Kakashi, and knew he was being a pain on purpose. The man had a good heart. Naruto went next, going on for _hours_ about ramen only to switch gears to loud speech about becoming Hokage.

_A noble dream..._

Sakura didn't say much, only insinuating things about Sasuke. The Uchiha was just as mysterious as their Sensei in his introduction, save for the "killing a certain someone" bit.

_So you've chosen revenge then, _she glanced at the brooding boy, _However I doubt that's really a surprise to anyone._

When he finished speaking, the four of them turned to her expectantly. She shrugged.

"Well, I'm Yuki and this is Tykell, my ninja hound," she ran a hand over Tykell's grey fur, earning her a quiet bark, "I like to watch the stars at night, and to sit in the rain. I don't like it when people bother me when I'm thinking and...I don't have any dreams."

"Nothing?" Kakashi questioned. She smiled at him, feeling the sadness creeping up on her.

"Nothing."

"Ok then. We'll have our first team meeting in the morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast or you'll puke," Kakashi threatened before poofing away, leaving the four of them to sit in silence. Yuki stood, beckoning Tykell to follow, and began to walk away already thinking over what Kakashi had said.

"What do _you_ think, Tyke? Should I skip breakfast?" He barked in response.

"That's what I thought, too. If I end up puking, then I end up puking." She scratched him behind the ears affectionately.

"You're weird, you know that?" Yuki looked behind her to find Naruto a few paces back, his arms folded behind his head. She just shrugged and turned back to Tykell.

"I think he's onto us, Tyke," she whispered, winking playfully. Tykell barked again.

"Do you live around here, Naruto?" She already knew the answer to this, but asked anyway. They needed to get along if they were going to be working together for the majority of their ninja career, after all.

"Uh...yeah. Just around the corner. Do you?" Naruto seemed flustered at the sudden attention.

"No."

"Then why are you walking this way?" She shrugged again.

"Just to walk, I guess." Naruto stopped where the street branched off, hesitating at the corner.

"Well I'll see you at training tomorrow, Naruto." He grinned up at her.

"Believe it!" And then he ran off towards his house, waving backwards happily. When he was out of sight, Yuki let her smile fall. The effort was starting to wear on her. She then picked up her daily routine where she had left off, walking until she reached the cliff that held the Hokage heads. She easily focused her chakra to her feet and began running up the side of the mountain until she reached the top of the Fourth's head, Tykell close beside her. They sat themselves down next to each other, admiring the view. The setting sun cast the village and the forest beyond in a marvelous orange glow.

"_Look, Yuki. The sun is setting! You're going to miss it."_

"_Coming, Papa!"_

"_See, look how beautiful it is. The sun is like an artist, Yuki. When it sets, it paints the sky and the earth wonderful colors."_

"_Just like you!"_

"_Yes, just like me. And do you know what comes out after the sun sets?"_

"_The stars! And they sparkle just like Mama."_

"_Yes...they do."_

"_Papa?"_

"_Yes, Yuki?"_

"_Is Mama happy up in the stars?"_

"_Of course she is."_

"_Do you think she's lonely?"_

"_She can't be, because we visit her every night remember? And one day you and I both will be up there with her."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

Yuki rested on her back, her head lying on Tykell, and gazed up at the night sky.

"I did it. I'm a ninja now, just like you always wanted," she whispered, letting herself get lost in the stars.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**Angst angst angst.**

**Just so you know, this will be mostly canon until later in the story. **

**Please Review and tell me what you thought.**

**-A/N-**


	2. Pass or Fail!

**-A/N-**

**So I went back and edited the first chapter a little. If anyone is interested in being a Beta hit me up. **

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcomed. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki watched as Naruto's clones pummeled each other, unaware that Kakashi had escaped. She was hidden in the trees nearby with Tykell crouched a few feet away from her. So far none of her teammates had managed to get a bell from the Jonin, but they _had_ provided her with an opportunity to examine the older ninja in combat. This wasn't enough for her to beat him, but it was something. She waited until Sakura could be heard screaming before she broke cover to find a better place to attack from. Tykell stayed behind. She just needed Sasuke to attack the man - the Uchiha would provide the biggest distraction, then she could make her move. Sure enough, Sasuke challenged the Jonin shortly after he failed to stop the man with his shuriken. He attacked Kakashi, forcing him to block his attack with both hands.

Yuki sprung from her hiding spot and raced towards the pair, a kunai positioned in her hand. She swung at Kakashi who jumped back to avoid it, dropping Sasuke to the ground in the process. A smirk twisted her mouth. Just as Kakashi's feet touched the ground Tykell jumped from behind him, catching one of the three bells in his mouth. Well, almost. Kakashi quickly twisted to avoid the dog, exposing his right side to her. Taking the opportunity presented to her. she lunged again, throwing her kunai. Her attack flew wide, earning only a small gash on the his shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Sasuke forming a series of hand signs.

_Fire Jutsu, _She realized.

She leapt out of the way, retreating back into the trees to catch her breath. She climbed into one of the taller ones to return to observing the field. Naruto, who had tried to eat the "unprotected" lunches was tied to one of the wooden posts, and Sakura had to help dig Sasuke out of the ground after Kalashi had ended their fight by burying him up to his neck in the dirt - things were definitely slowing down. As if it read her mind, the timer Kakashi had set shrilled in the distance, signaling lunch. She was out of time.

_Wonderful. _

Yuki strolled up and propped herself against the side of one of the posts, sighing quietly. Tykell nudged her face with his nose apologetically.

"It's not your fault, bud," she whispered looping her arm around his neck and pulling him close. Sasuke and Sakura approached with sullen faces. It didn't take long for Kakashi to appear and begin lecturing them on teamwork. Yuki knew the second he told them they weren't being sent back to the academy that something was up. They had failed his test. _Horribly_. There was no way he was going to let them slide.

"That's right. All four of you are being _dropped from the program._" And there it was. Yuki didn't want to believe it. Granted she hadn't tried very hard to get where she was today, but to have all that work thrown into the wind because she couldn't beat a _Jonin_? She couldn't just _fail. _She had promised-

Sasuke suddenly launched himself at Kakashi, his kunai raised. The Jonin easily pinned him to the ground and placed the blade against the boys throat.

"Think about it like this: Sakura, kill Naruto or Sasuke dies."

_What is he doing?_

Sakura looked petrified at the threat, Naruto was losing his nerve. Kakashi put the kunai away, and with a sigh, proceeded to lecture them on the reason they were put into squads; on the importance of teamwork. Kakashi was no stranger to death. As a Jonin, Yuki didn't doubt that many of his loved ones, many of the people he had trained with when he was their age, had been lost to the Shinobi lifestyle. It was a sobering thought.

"Ok. I'll give you one more chance. After lunch, I'll let you try to take the bells again. Oh, and if anyone tries to feed Naruto you will all automatically fail." It was quiet after Kakashi left them, save for the occasional growl coming from Naruto's stomach. What a trooper. Yuki picked open her uneaten lunch and popped the lid open, grateful she _had_ decided to eat that morning.

"Here," Sasuke held up his lunch. He beat her to it,"If we're going to get those bells then we need to work together. We can't do that if Naruto is too hungry to move." He did have a point. Sakura swiftly offered up her own with claims of being on a diet.

"No. He can eat mine. I'm not hungry," Yuki pulled apart her chopsticks and scooped up some rice.

"A-are you sure?" Naruto questioned despite the hungry way he was eyeing her food.

"Yeah. I ate earlier," Yuki shrugged. Sakura gaped at her, and she could have sworn Sasuke's eye twitched. She fed Naruto as quickly as she could, not trusting Kakashi to stay away for much longer. Unfortunately, her suspicions were confirmed once the sky darkened, and Kakashi appeared out of nowhere.

"You! You broke the rules!" Kakashi roared. Yuki would be lying if she said the man wasn't absolutely terrifying in that moment. Sakura immediately jumped to their defence, trying to explain their actions, and was quickly backed by Naruto and Sasuke.

"The four of us are one, that's the whole point of this right?" Yuki added.

"Oh? Is that so? The four of you are one?" They all agreed loudly. Suddenly the dark clouds faded away and Kakashi's glare lifted.

"You pass."

"W-what?" Naruto was the first to speak up.

"You. Pass."

"But we broke the rules," Yuki muttered, folding her arms.

"Yes. In this world those who break the rules are considered to be scum, that's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." It might have been the light hearted way he said it, or maybe the way his eye glimmered with a proud sadness, but the words awoke something deep inside Yuki. A hope she had never felt in the academy. A determination none of her training inspired. A desire to become a strong, respected Leaf ninja. Just like her father had wanted. And the feeling stayed with her as the team gathered their things to go and celebrate. She scratched behind Tykell's ear playfully, slowly following her team mates.

"Hey! You forgot to untie me!" Yuli chuckled and cut the rope holding the blonde.

"I don't think they forgot about you, Naruto." He glowered up at her from his place on the ground, but she just shook her head at him and walked after her team. Kakashi had said something about eating their first meal together. While she wanted nothing more than to take her spot on the Fourth's Head to watch the setting sun, Yuki decided it was better to break the routine. Besides, she was supposed to go to the wall tonight anyway.

They settled on ramen at Naruto's favorite stand. It was more to appease the blond's insistent begging than anything else, but Yuki didn't mind. She just took her place on one of the stools and ate her food in silence, enjoying listening to the conversation.

"You did well today," Kakashi spoke softly from his seat next to her on the end of their group.

"Yeah?" He nodded, his eye never leaving the book in his hands. Naruto and Sakura were arguing loudly at the other end of the row, unaware of their conversation. The same could not be said for Sasuke. His eyes had flickered towards them at the sound of Kakashi's voice.

"I'm impressed. Iruka told me you hardly went to class." Yuki shrugged in response.

"Well," he spoke louder, drawing the team's attention, "I'm calling it a night. Tomorrow we have our first mission as Team 7!" He waved shortly, then poofed away. Figures - he'd left them with the bill.

"Here," Yuki sighed and dug some money out of her pocket, "This should cover my share." She handed it to the kind man and smiled, shoving her hands back into her pockets. Better leave before they discovered the cost of the rest: Naruto was a bottomless pit. It would seem that she wasn't the only one with that idea either; Sasuke followed closely behind her, his face indifferent.

"Hey." It surprised her that he was the one to start the inevitable conversation. She didn't think he was _that_ curious.

"Yes?" She responded innocently.

"What was Kakashi talking to you about." It wasn't a question, more of a demand.

"Just about the weather, you know, casual stuff." She provided offhandedly. Sasuke frowned.

"Do you two know each other?"

_Yes._

"Not really...I've seen him around. Why?" She narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged.

"Doesn't matter." His reply was dismissive.

_Then why ask?_ She thought irritably, looking away.

"You did good today. I almost got a bell because of you." She changed the subject, smirking at the twitch of his eye.

"Hn. I would've got one if you hadn't rushed in like that." She raised her eyebrow skeptically, but didn't challenge him, so they walked in silence for several minutes. Yuli wasn't going home, she was headed for the wall - one of the night guards sometimes let her sit with him on the top so she could look out at the outside world. He was nice to talk to. After a while, she realized Sasuke was still following her instead of returning to his own house.

"Why are you following me?" Yuki questioned.

"Because I want to see where you sneak off to every night." She blinked.

_Has he been watching me?_

"That's creepy, Sasuke." Realizing what he said Sasuke started. His shocked face sank rapidly into a glare to hide his embarrassment.

"We're neighbors. I would be blind if I didn't notice. A ninja needs to be perceptive of the things going on in their surroundings."He growled. Yuki resisted the urge to chuckle.

"Calm down, I was only joking. I notice when you sneak out, too." He frowned again. It was strange talking to him after three years of living just one house away and attending the same school. Yuki hadn't tried to make any friends when she came to the village and he had been no exception. Besides, the Uchiha wasn't known to be the friendly type. Save for Kyosuke, the wall guard, she didn't have any real friends at all.

They fell silent again, and remained that way for the rest of the trip. Out of courtesy for her tag-along, Yuki didn't run up the side of the wall like she usually did and instead used the civilian access. Under normal circumstances it was off limits to non-personnel, but Yuki was special. She nodded to a few of the other guards and made her way to Kyosuke's position.

"You're late," he said in greeting, "and you brought a friend." His purple hair ruffled softly in the wind, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. Kyosuke was only two years older than she was, but had graduated when he was very young. Even so, Yuki felt it was far easier to get along with him than most of the adults in the village. He was so kind hearted.

"Lay off, Kyo. We had a 'team dinner'. This one and I ditched before the others realized how much the bill was." Kyosuke laughed.

"And 'this one' is?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke answered for himself.

"That's right. I heard you just made genin. Congratulations. I'm Kyosuke Tara." Sasuke offered him a nod in response. Yuki plopped herself down beside her friend, letting her legs dangle off the edge of the wall.

"Well," she addressed Sasuke, "this is one of the things I do at night." The Uchiha sighed and turned away from her. He left without saying goodbye, leaving Yuki, Tykell, and Kyosuke to sit in a brief silence.

"Isn't he just a bundle of joy." She nudged him playfully.

"It's worse when we're training." She fell silent again, admiring the stars.

"You didn't come yesterday."He mumbled, looking at her questioningly.

"I was busy," She lied. Truthfully, she just didn't want to be around anyone at the time.

"That's right. You're a Shinobi now, so I guess I won't be seeing you as much." They quieted again, listening to the sounds of the night. Yuki looked out at the trees in longing; she hated being trapped behind the village walls. She hated being trapped inside a cage.

"Hey," she looked back at Kyosuke, "Stop thinking about it. You're a ninja now- they're bound to let you out sometime, don't worry so much." He offered her a smile.

"You're so optimistic, Kyo." He laughed.

"I have to be. This is a cruel world full of angry people. It's all I _can_ do." She finally allowed herself to smile back and leaned her head on his shoulder. Kakashi's words rang through her mind once more and she felt calm once again. Things were going to be fine... at least for a little while.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**Sorry for the late update. Trying to graduate and deal with bs hours at work...also the flue, but whatever. **

**I am currently working on the next Chapters for Redemption and BOTW, but don't get your hopes up too high. Trying to come up with a better outline for both. Once that is done I'll be pumping out chapters faster hopefully. **

**Like always, reviews keep me writing. So R&amp;R if you don't want me to forget about this on accident because that actually happens ****sometimes... **

**-A/N-**


	3. A New Mission

**-A/N-**

**I know, **_**another **_**story...but I feel like there aren't enough enough SasukeXOC stories out there.**

**Good news though, I **_**should **_**be updating both BOTW and REDEMPTION within the next week or so. Feel free to check those out if you haven't yet. The first one is Death Note fic and the second is a LokiXOC. **

**I'll say this now: ****Do no expect frequent and/or scheduled updates. I'm more motivated to write by the number of reviews I receive, like, sometimes I'll literally FORGET about my story. **

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcomed. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki entered Iruka's classroom ten minutes early, closely followed by her canine companion. They made their way to the back of the room, Yuki plopping down in her usual seat and her dog lying on the floor beside her. This was routine for the white haired girl and her hound, and had been for the last three years. At first she had started coming to class early to avoid the attention. Not many people had white hair this young and she had never met another person with the same violet eyes as her, so it would turn every head on the classroom when she walked in. Getting there before anyone else saved her the trouble and guaranteed the spot in the back on the room. At least then she knew people weren't staring at her back. Yuki fingered the headband hanging from her neck absently, nodding to her Sensei politely. Iruka greeted her with a proud smile, his eyes filled with relief. Yuki suspected that he hadn't expected her to show for the test. She had terrible attendance and had expressed to him on several occasions her discomfort with the idea of becoming a shinobi. Though now she could see the relief and pride he felt in her decision. Yuki, after all, was the second best in the class. It would be a waste of talent if she didn't become a Shinobi.

She turned her attention from Iruka to the window and the village beyond. Her eyes slipped from person to person as they entered the room, examining the new Shinobi excitedly gathering in the yard and shuffling into class, landing on the Uchiha as he approached, noting his brooding stare. She examined Nara and Akimichi, then the Hyuuga girl - everyone she was expecting to graduate. Then her eyes widened as a loud Naruto burst into the room grinning from ear to ear. Slowly a small smile crossed her face.

_So he managed to make it, too. Good for him._

Yuki's smile vanished as soon as Ino and Sakura pushed their way into the room screaming at each other, both claiming to have been the first in. Yuki didn't particularly like either of them - not that she hated them, she didn't really hate anyone, but the two girls had always rubbed her the wrong way. _Especially_ when they gave her crap about having short hair.

Sakura stomped her way over to Naruto, demanding to have the boy's seat; she wanted to sit next to Sasuke, but Naruto refused loudly, so she forced him out and threw him to the ground. Naturally, Naruto had a fit. Yuki rolled her eyes at Naruto's reaction - he leapt up onto Sasuke's desk and glared down at him, his teeth bared in a snarl. Seconds later, their faces crashed together, and Yuki tried in vain to block out the chorus of angry girls that followed.

This was going to be a long day.

Eventually Iruka grabbed the attention of the class, congratulating them all on passing. He then began to list off squads of three.

"Ok. And the members of Squad 7 will be made up of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Yuki Suzume." She cocked her head to the side curiously, ignoring the reactions of Naruto and Sakura.

"I thought you were only doing teams of three?" It was Shikamaru who spoke up.

"We have an even number of graduates this year, so there will be one four man team - Squad 7," Iruka explained, then continued assigning people to their new teams. Yuki tuned him out, no longer required to pay attention. It was odd, the combination of their squad. An angry jerk, a misguided fan-girl, a hyperactive dropout, and an anti-social introvert.

_Well, _she wondered, resting her head on her palm, _at least things will be interesting._

* * *

"Me? I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate... well I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies- I have lots of hobbies."

Yuki resisted the urge to smile at the Jonin. She was familiar with Kakashi, and knew he was being a pain on purpose. The man had a good heart. Naruto went next, going on for _hours_ about ramen only to switch gears to loud speech about becoming Hokage.

_A noble dream..._

Sakura didn't say much, only insinuating things about Sasuke. The Uchiha was just as mysterious as their Sensei in his introduction, save for the "killing a certain someone" bit.

_So you've chosen revenge then, _she glanced at the brooding boy, _However I doubt that's really a surprise to anyone._

When he finished speaking, the four of them turned to her expectantly. She shrugged.

"Well, I'm Yuki and this is Tykell, my ninja hound," she ran a hand over Tykell's grey fur, earning her a quiet bark, "I like to watch the stars at night, and to sit in the rain. I don't like it when people bother me when I'm thinking and...I don't have any dreams."

"Nothing?" Kakashi questioned. She smiled at him, feeling the sadness creeping up on her.

"Nothing."

"Ok then. We'll have our first team meeting in the morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast or you'll puke," Kakashi threatened before poofing away, leaving the four of them to sit in silence. Yuki stood, beckoning Tykell to follow, and began to walk away already thinking over what Kakashi had said.

"What do _you_ think, Tyke? Should I skip breakfast?" He barked in response.

"That's what I thought, too. If I end up puking, then I end up puking." She scratched him behind the ears affectionately.

"You're weird, you know that?" Yuki looked behind her to find Naruto a few paces back, his arms folded behind his head. She just shrugged and turned back to Tykell.

"I think he's onto us, Tyke," she whispered, winking playfully. Tykell barked again.

"Do you live around here, Naruto?" She already knew the answer to this, but asked anyway. They needed to get along if they were going to be working together for the majority of their ninja career, after all.

"Uh...yeah. Just around the corner. Do you?" Naruto seemed flustered at the sudden attention.

"No."

"Then why are you walking this way?" She shrugged again.

"Just to walk, I guess." Naruto stopped where the street branched off, hesitating at the corner.

"Well I'll see you at training tomorrow, Naruto." He grinned up at her.

"Believe it!" And then he ran off towards his house, waving backwards happily. When he was out of sight, Yuki let her smile fall. The effort was starting to wear on her. She then picked up her daily routine where she had left off, walking until she reached the cliff that held the Hokage heads. She easily focused her chakra to her feet and began running up the side of the mountain until she reached the top of the Fourth's head, Tykell close beside her. They sat themselves down next to each other, admiring the view. The setting sun cast the village and the forest beyond in a marvelous orange glow.

"_Look, Yuki. The sun is setting! You're going to miss it."_

"_Coming, Papa!"_

"_See, look how beautiful it is. The sun is like an artist, Yuki. When it sets, it paints the sky and the earth wonderful colors."_

"_Just like you!"_

"_Yes, just like me. And do you know what comes out after the sun sets?"_

"_The stars! And they sparkle just like Mama."_

"_Yes...they do."_

"_Papa?"_

"_Yes, Yuki?"_

"_Is Mama happy up in the stars?"_

"_Of course she is."_

"_Do you think she's lonely?"_

"_She can't be, because we visit her every night remember? And one day you and I both will be up there with her."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really."_

Yuki rested on her back, her head lying on Tykell, and gazed up at the night sky.

"I did it. I'm a ninja now, just like you always wanted," she whispered, letting herself get lost in the stars.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**Angst angst angst.**

**Just so you know, this will be mostly canon until later in the story. **

**Please Review and tell me what you thought.**

**-A/N-**


	4. Reunion

**-A/N-**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcomed. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki angled her head slightly, straining to distinguish the background noise from what she was looking for. She was sitting with Sasuke in a local tavern, as was routine after their show, trying to locate anyone that could give them a lead. For the last three days a man had been coming here to boast about how fast he was making money, claiming that only the bravest men chose to work in his profession. There could be a number of jobs he was speaking of, like mining or body guarding, but he didn't look like an honest worker. In all of the three towns they had visited in the last week and a half, he was the only lead they had.

_And he hasn't lead us anywhere, _Yuki thought as she pushed around the fish bits on her plate. And what's more, the other three were doing _actual _investigating while her and Sasuke sat around in awkward silence. It felt counterproductive in her opinion. But Kakashi had decided that out of all the Genin on the squad, they were the best fighters and could handle themselves should things in the tavern get ugly.

She hoped they wouldn't.

The man laughed uproariously at the expense of one of the bar tenders, squaring his shoulders menacingly.

"So you think you can take on old Ryu then, eh? Come at me then punk! You lay a single hand on me and this whole place will pay for it!" Sasuke's eyebrow quirked slightly, but he didn't turn to watch the scene like Yuki.

"You can't just come into my bar and threaten my town like you own the place, thug," another man, likely the owner interjected, "we don't like your kind here!" The thug laughed again.

"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll be on my way then," He shoved his way past the crowd and stood in the doorway, "and you all better get used to 'my kind' real fast because we are coming like the damn plague!" And with that he left, slamming the door behind him.

"Do we tail him?" She whispered.

"No, too risky. We'll just tell Kakashi when we get back to camp and see if we can pick up his trail later." She nodded agreeably and and pushed her plate away. They paid for their food and left the bar where Tykell greeted them -he hadn't been allowed inside. The trip to camp wasn't far, just outside of town, and was silent for the most part, though on occasion Sasuke would cast a suspicious glance her way. Once they made it to camp they changed out of their costumes into regular civilian clothing and started the fire. If previous nights were anything to go by, Kakashi and the others wouldn't be back for another hour or so.

Yuki made her way to her usual boulder on the edge of camp and sat against it, Tykell curling up beside her and resting his head on her lap. Her eyes left him almost immediately, coming to rest on the vast night sky above her. She was content sitting there for the rest of the night in silence, but her stoic teammate decided to break it.

"Are you going to sit there all night again?"

"Probably." Yuki shrugged.

"If you don't sleep you'll become a liability to the rest of the team." As if he needed to lecture her. If Yuki recalled correctly, she fought with Zabuza the longest out of the four genin _and_ protected Tazuna when the Uchiha and Naruto got themselves trapped. If anything she was just as much of an _asset_ to the team as Sasuke was.

_Liability my ass._

"This isn't any different than usual. Besides, you're one to talk, Sasuke." She could picture his eye twitching.

"No, this _is _different than usual. You've always gone to bed before. You haven't had any sleep in the last three days and I _know_ it's been affecting you. You aren't hiding those food pills very well." She shrugged again, trying hard to ignore how right he was. The truth was she was scared. Even if she tried to sleep she wouldn't get any. The thought that _He _could show up at any time had her so tense that the muscles in her back were cramping and she was running on adrenaline. Sasuke sighed.

"Why won't you just tell me what's bothering you? You've been on edge since we left the village."

"I've already told you not to worry about it."

"And wasn't it you who said it was alright for me to care? You're distracted, not sleeping, and _scared_ about something and its affecting your performance. How can I trust you to have my back when you're half dead on your feet? I have a right to know." Her pulse increased slightly at the thought. She didn't want to... the memories were bad enough on a normal day, and she didn't need to add Sasuke to the handful of people that pitied her. But he did have a point. They were a team after all, and that required trust. So she nodded slowly, deciding he didn't need to know all of it, and motioned for him to come sit next to her. Only once he was propped against the rock beside her did she tear her eyes away from the stars and look at him.

"The Hokage believe that my uncle might be involved with these bandits somehow."

"Your uncle?" She nodded.

"He's a not... pleasant, and I'm worried about running into him again." Sasuke scrutinized her for a second then nodded slowly.

"That's why the Third wanted you off the mission."

"I'd be a target." His look darkened slightly and Yuki could tell where his thought process was taking him, but he didn't push the topic further.

"And Kakashi knows?" She nodded again.

"Just don't tell the others - you're more level headed than them. Naruto would overreact and Sakura would worry too much, it's best if they don't find out yet." To her surprise Sasuke agreed and turned his eyes from her to the night sky.

"What do you see up there that has you so captivated? They never change." She smiled softly.

"My dad used to stay up with me to watch them, because my mother was a Star Charter before she died. I guess it makes me feel closer to them." Sasuke hummed, but stayed quiet after that. And they sat there together watching the stars until Kakashi and the others returned to camp boasting about finding a hideout a few miles away.

* * *

"What do you mean we're being sent home?" Naruto yelled.

"We finished our mission. It isn't our job to fight the bandits remember. A squad of Chunin and a few Jonin are being sent out to replace us." Kakashi replied smoothly, his eyes glued to the book in his hands.

"Are you serious? All that work and we don't even get to be apart of the action?"

"I honestly don't know why you're surprised, Naruto. The Hokage warned us before the mission even started," Sakura lectured.

"That doesn't mean it's _fair!_ Right, Sasuke? Yuki?" Sasuke didn't respond and Yuki shrugged. Honestly, she was relieved that they were going back to the village. She didn't want to take the chance of running into Him while she was so unprepared; she had a lot to do before that day. She sighed and stood from her place on the ground beside Sasuke, placing a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Maybe next time, hm?" The blonde huffed in defeat and shoved his remaining possessions into his bag. They proceeded to tear down camp, destroy their costumes, and don their ninja gear before finally leaving the clearing. Yuki reveled in the feeling of the wind on her face as they hopped through the trees, it had been too long since she'd experienced this freedom. Her comrades silently enjoyed the same sensation as they moved, their paces matched and their chakra connected. In Yuki's opinion there was no greater feeling in the whole world than being connected with her teammates in this way. It was unbelievably empowering. Like they could overcome any challenge thrown at them.

The formation was broken when a kunai flew towards Kakashi, who easily avoided it before realizing there was a paper bomb attached to the end. The group scattered out of the way of the explosion, darting in different directions. Yuki landed on the ground a little too hard for her liking, but rolled away just in time to dodge another kunai bomb. She took off left, to where she last saw Kakashi as Tykell scanned for any approaching enemy. The explosions were less frequent than before, but were rapidly being replaced by the sounds of metal clashing with metal. Yuki skidded to a stop and yanked out her own kunai, deflecting a few shuriken. Her opponents were three men, each dressed in shabby clothes and a sadistic grin. One of them catcalled and another growled, before they all launched themselves at her. She managed to take down one and disarm the other, but the third man had landed a nasty kick to her side. Tykell leaped into the fray and latched himself onto the third man's arm. Yuki silenced the man's screams with a slash of her kunai. The second attacker managed to get to his feet and began charging them again. He never made it. Sasuke landed on him from above and, with a sickly crunch, the bandit stopped moving. They shared a nod and took to the trees again.

"Where are the others?" Yuki called.

"Kakashi has them. There are too many of these guys for us to take on here. We're regrouping at the pass just ahead."

They forged on, managing to avoid most of their pursuers. Those they didn't avoid ended up with broken bodies and gaping wounds. Things were starting to look up as the winding path became visible in the distance.

_We're going to make it._

Her relief was short lived, however, when Sasuke let out a surprised yelp from behind her. Yuki landed and whirled around to find a masked shinobi pinning Sasuke to the ground beneath him, a kunai pressed dangerously close to the Uchiha's neck.

"Sasuke!" She started running, but a voice stopped her.

"Now, now. Why the hurry?" Tremors ran through her body at the familiar sound. A man emerged from the tree line with a large sword resting on his shoulder and a slight smirk on his mouth. His grey hair brushed his shoulders, his dark eyes holding a menacing glare. The sword he held had a dark blade and one end was serrated. It was meant to mangle wounds beyond healing. She'd seen it in action before.

"Don't you have time to say hello to your dear old uncle?" Yuki took a step back, terror starting to crawl its way into her mind. Tykell leapt in front of her growling protectively.

"Yuki..." Sasuke choked out. He was struggling as much as his attacker would let him, but it wasn't much. He was pinned and wouldn't be able to provide help.

"Now don't you even think about running off, Yuki, or your friend here won't have a head anymore. I'm _so_ glad to see you, dear niece. And here I was raising this army of worthless fools to try and storm the village - I had no idea you followed my brothers word even after I killed him. Any reasonable person would have gone into hiding. Well then, while I would love to chat I'm on a bit of a time crunch so lets get started, hmm?" He waved his hand and Sasuke let out a pained cry as his captor dug a second kunai into his arm.

"Leave him alone, Teru!" Yuki was shaking badly, but it didn't stop her from raising her own kunai threateningly. Teru laughed and swung his sword down by his side.

"You know what I'm here for, sweetheart. I know the rest of the puzzle, I just need yours, your fathers, and your mothers pieces to get through the door. This doesn't have to be messy. You're going to die either way..." His steps were slow and menacing. Yuki couldn't do anything, if she attacked they would kill Sasuke. Teru stopped right in front of her and smiled sadistically. Yuki stayed Tykell with her hand afraid the hound would attack and get hurt.

"Tell me what I need to know, girl!" Just then Sasuke broke free. The man on top of him had his own kunai lodged in his stomach before Sasuke threw him off, his hands a blur as he formed the signs for his fireball jutsu. The flames slammed Teru backwards, flinging him away from Yuki and Tykell in the process.

"You little punk!" Teru launched at Sasuke, kicking him into a tree. He brought his sword down in the area where Sasuke landed, missing Uchiha by a hair and causing the tree to collapse behind him. They repeated this action several more times, Sasuke barely managing to avoid the blade and Teru leaving a path of destruction in his wake. And then it happened. Sasuke landed on one of the fallen trees, only to have the log shift violently under the new wait. The movement threw him off balance, allowing Teru to kick him again. He sailed through the air and landed against a boulder, his shoulder crunching loudly. Teru didn't skip a beat and was on him in an instant, his sword raised to kill. Time slowed for Yuki. Flashbacks to the last time she saw this man raising his sword to someone she cared about were flickering through her mind rapidly.

_Not again..._

"No!" She yelled and moved. She had no idea how she managed it, but somehow Yuki was able to reach Sasuke and push him out of the way of the blades just in time. The same could not be said for her, and the serrated edges ripped through the flesh on her back. Her world exploded in pain - it was blinding. She couldn't think or feel enough to care about the hard way she hit the ground or worry about the sudden mix of loud explosions. Her vision was blurry, filled with black spots.

_Yuki!_

It had to be Sasuke calling her. Couldn't he see? She was right there...

_Yuki!_

And then the world faded to black.


	5. Chunnin Exams

**-A/N-**

**Reviews get updates faster and are much appreciated. Sasuke's POV for most of it. **

**DISCLAIMER:**** I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcomed. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

The members of Team Seven were all crowded in the hospital room watching one of the nurses check Yuki's vitals again. She had stabilized over the night, but the Medic Nin were still uncertain. After she had thrown herself in front of him, Sasuke managed to land another fireball on Teru, buying enough time for Kakashi and reinforcements to come to their aid. Sasuke didn't like to think about it. The way she had ragdolled onto the ground after Teru's sword sliced through her...all the blood. He'd been so sure he was going to lose his teammate then. He never wanted to lose another person again and when he saw her condition he just...moved. Sasuke carried her all the way back to the village. And just in time too - had he waited a minute longer, she would've died from blood loss.

He didn't even remember most of the trip, only that he had collapsed when he finally reached the gates. Sasuke woke in a room adjacent to hers, but he didn't stay there. Him had stayed by her side with his team over the last three days watching her barely cling to life. And even though things were starting to look up he couldn't bring himself to relax.

_This is my fault. I should've been faster. I should've been stronger. She never would've had to save me if I wasn't so weak..._

Those thoughts had plagued him since he scooped her limp body off the ground. Honestly, he should've been more cautious. Yuki had _told_ him that Teru was a problem. Yet he didn't even see it coming. And now here he was watching his comrades sit helplessly beside her unconscious form, completely unaware that they could've prevented all this. He clenched his hands in his pockets, refraining from letting his face contort into rage. A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his self loathing. Kakashi stood beside him, eyeing him warily.

"They need a few minutes alone with her, you should go and get some rest." It was only then that Sasuke realized that Naruto and Sakura were nowhere to be seen. He nodded and walked towards the door, not planning on actually going home. He wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called, "Don't blame yourself for this. You're still only a genin - if anything it was my fault. I'm supposed to protect all of you with my life, remember? You did everything you could and she's alive because of it." He met his sensei's steady gaze for a moment before nodding again and shuffling out of the room. To his surprise Tykell followed. The mutt had been glued to Yuki's side since the moment he'd arrived in the village with the others, so Sasuke supposed he was hungry. Or at the very least needed to use the bathroom. Sure enough, Tykell bounded over to the nearest tree once they made it outside and did his business. After he was done he trotted back over to Sasuke and nudged his hand. The Uchiha sighed and motioned for Tykell to follow him. He wandered through the village streets without really thinking about where he was going. Eventually he wound up at his front door, but after realizing he didn't have anything resembling dog food in his own house, he walked the few feet to Yuki's instead. He had to break in through one of her windows to let Tykell in and then spent several minutes rummaging around in her cupboards before he found the dog's food.

_How careless, _Sasuke returned to the window, _What if I was an assassin? A Shinobi should know better._

Tykell gave his hand an appreciative lick before he set to devouring his food. Sasuke took this opportunity to look around. Yes he'd been in Yuki's house several times in the past, but he'd never been granted the luxury of _examining _it. Yuki could see right through his indifference most of the time and would have accused him of snooping. Not that there was really anything to snoop through - the house was the same small style that his was, the only photo in the whole place was her copy of Team Seven's, there wasn't anything that connected her to her family or her past that he could see, and he wasn't going to _actually _start snooping to try and find some.

_I'm so glad to see you, dear niece. And here I was raising this army of worthless fools to try and storm the village - I had no idea you followed my brothers word even after I killed him. Any reasonable person would have gone into hiding. Well then, while I would love to chat I'm on a bit of a time crunch, so lets get started, hmm? You know what I'm here for, sweetheart. I know the rest of the puzzle, I just need yours, your fathers, and your mothers pieces to get through the door. This doesn't have to be messy. You're going to die either way..._

Teru's words repeated themselves in his head over and over. Her Uncle... an unpleasant shiver went down his spine at the familiarity of the situation. That man hadn't even batted an eyelid when he wounded her. And he had been planning on attacking the village? Just how desperate was he? Sasuke sighed again and sat in one of the kitchen chairs, resting his kunai pouch on the table. He hadn't felt this...out of sorts since he'd woken up on Tazuna's bridge after Haku had taken him out. Back then it had been a mix of feelings about him almost dying and having been _nice_ to Naruto, but now it was worry. Yes, he was worried about Yuki. Yes, he actually cared. He had felt closer to her than the rest team. Yuki could read him like a book and it made it easier for him to talk to her because of it. She was the only one on the team that could keep up with him in a fight besides Kakashi and they spent more time training together as a result. He didn't feel complete unless she was the one backing him up on the battle field. He trusted her.

_And now she's lying in the hospital because you couldn't handle yourself in a fight. _

Sasuke rested his head on the table and gritted his teeth, his hands clutching at his hair. Despite the comforting words Kakashi had tried to provide, nothing would change the fact that Sasuke was caught off guard against an opponent who was faster than he was. And no matter how he looked at it Yuki was hurt because of him. Honestly, Sasuke just wanted her to wake up...then he could hear what she had to say about it. She always knew what to say to calm him down. He sat there for several more minutes before exhaustion began to overtake him.

* * *

Sasuke was woken up by Naruto's voice. It was distant and muffled, followed by obvious pounding on a door. He pulled himself from the kitchen chair and stretched his stiff muscles. Tykell stood from his place on the floor and nudged his hand affectionately, giving a little whimper.

"Yeah, I hear him..."

"Sasuke! Sasuke come on open up!" He made sure Yuki's door was locked behind him before walking out into the street, his eye twitching.

"Will you shut up." Naruto froze mid knock and stared at Sasuke slightly dumbfounded.

"What are you doing in Yuki's house?" Sasuke motioned towards Tykell and provided no more explanation. Naruto "ohhed" in understanding before shaking his head and donning an excited grin again.

"Yuki woke up!" Sasuke's eyes widened.

"When?"

"A few minutes ago! She's totally fine! She wants to see you." Sasuke nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, doing his best to look indifferent. The walk was filled with Naruto's usual chatter and Sasuke's silence. Nothing unusual except for the lack of insults coming from the Uchiha's part. He could hear the gentle talk of his teammates emanating from the room as they approached. Yuki was sitting up in her bed smiling, though she looked much paler than usual. Kakashi and Sakura were off to one side watching her interact with Kyosuke.

"Hello, Sasuke." The purple haired nin greeted. Sasuke nodded politely but turned his attention to Yuki. She offered him a weak smile, asked how he was doing, then turned back to Kyosuke next to her. He moved off to the side and busied himself with looking out the window trying not to feel put off. It...bothered him, how close she was to Kyosuke, even though it shouldn't. Who she decided to be friends with was no concern of his - he just... admired, no, envied how close they were. He wasn't stupid, either. It was obvious that they felt more than friendship for one another. Sasuke Uchiha could spot Crush-Eyes from a mile away. Though these two were a lot more subtle about it than the girls who fawned over him. Seeing those being happy and slightly shy about being around each other made him almost jealous.

Kyosuke stayed with them for the rest of visiting hours, though eventually Naruto and Sakura managed to get in some conversation discussing different missions and sharing stories about team outings. Sasuke remained quiet through everything, only nodding when he was called upon by an enthusiastic Naruto or a blushing Sakura. All he wanted was to talk with Yuki alone. No one else there needed to hear what he had to say. Sasuke didn't openly apologise, at least not to Naruto. He felt his jaw clench as a Med Nin entered the room and politely asked that everyone leave, but offered to have one person stay the night if Yuki needed it. Sasuke was surprised when Yuki declined (to Sakura's disappointment - she'd looked so ready to volunteer) and one by one they all shuffled out of the room saying their farewells. Sasuke was the last to leave, wanting nothing more than to stay and talk, but was stopped by Yuki's voice.

"Sasuke? Could you take Tyke outside for a minute? He's going to be cooped up in here all night and I don't want to make him wait. He won't go with the hospital staff." He nodded and led the dog outside to do his business. His team said their goodbyes and left him there with Tykell, unaware that Kakashi was lurking behind him.

"Sasuke." The Uchiha tried hard not to jump at the unexpected sound. He really needed to get some rest. He hummed in response.

"You should stay with her tonight. Just in case. Oh, and get some sleep yourself. We have a mandatory training session in the morning. Goodnight." And with that, his sensei's eye crinkled and he poofed away. Sasuke walked back to the room immediately after Tykell was done. The lights had all been shut off, only moonlight made the interior visible. Yuki was laying down looking like she had just fallen asleep, but opened her eyes once he shut the door.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"I didn't want him to wake you in the middle of the night." He mumbled back.

"No, thank you for saving me."

"I wouldn't have had to if-"

"Sasuke," Her gentle voice interrupted him, "You were very brave. There was no way a Genin could take him out when most Jonin can't match him in a fight. He's on a whole other level. I just couldn't watch you get hurt... I've seen him-" She broke off and turned away, her voice faltering. After taking a deep breath she began trying to sit up.

"Hey, careful." His hands itched to push her back down, but he stayed put. Though he couldn't help but take a step forward when she hissed in pain.

"Come here," she whispered once she was fully sat up. Sasuke hesitated.

"Sasuke," she scolded, giving him a pointed glare. He hesitated a second longer before finally moving to the bedside. Yuki smiled then and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. He went completely stiff. Sure he'd been hugged by other girls (at least once a day by Sakura), but Yuki had never done it before. The most he'd gotten from her was a playful punch or nudge, or a friendly hand on the shoulder. But, after a moment, he began to relax. This wasn't a squealing fan girl or brought on by attraction. This was a hug of gratitude. This was Yuki. However, Sasuke soon realized it was more than that when her shoulders began shaking slightly. She was crying. It was only then that he allowed his own arms to encircle her in awkward comfort. He didn't know much about the situation, but he had a pretty good idea. Teru Suzume was the reason Yuki was living alone in the village. Whether or not that man had been involved with the death of her parents, or the rest of her family, he still caused her pain. He caused her fear. Sasuke of all people knew what it was like to be afraid of someone you onced loved.

Eventually he managed to situate himself on the bed beside her, resting against the wall as she clung to him. At least she was lying down. Soon enough her quiet sobs became sniffles which stopped all together after a few more minutes. She lifted her head and wiped her eyes, looking up at him apologetically. He didn't try very hard to hide his concern. She would see through it anyway.

"Sorry... I know how much you hate it when people cling to you" She mumbled and made to move away. Sasuke let her go reluctantly.

"It's fine."

"Are- are you staying tonight?"

"Yeah, Kakashi asked me to." She let out a small sigh of relief and shifted so she was lying back down beside him.

"Could you..." She trailed off.

"Could I what?"

"Stay here, just until I fall asleep? I don't think I'll be able to. - nightmares..." She concluded softly, "Nevermind, it's stupid, I know."

"No it's... it's alright. I know about them. Nightmares, I mean." He admitted awkwardly. Sasuke had no idea why he showed this girl so much emotion when usually he barely _admitted _to having any, but she just brought it out of him. And what kind of person would he be if he shot her down after she saved his life? So he settled himself on his back beside her and tried not to stiffen too much as she curled up against him. She was asleep almost instantly. Sasuke considered moving away, after all he did only agree to stay there until she was asleep, but he didn't have the heart to move her. She would definitely wake up if he were to try. That and he was so _comfortable_. So relaxed. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been so peaceful about falling asleep. And before he knew it, Sasuke drifted off too.

* * *

The first thought that ran through Sasuke's mind as he woke was how warm he felt; he didn't want to move. The second thought was that he needed to use the restroom. It was the only thing keeping him from falling back to sleep, but he still didn't move. Yuki was tucked comfortably against his chest and he didn't want to disturb her. Sometime during the night he had rolled on his side and pulled her closer. It was a strangely intimate position, but he didn't feel uncomfortable about it, he hadn't slept this soundly in years. Sleep fogged his mind threatening to pull him back into its warm arms. He shifted slightly and sighed. If he didn't go to the bathroom he was going to end up dancing and Sasuke Uchiha _did not_ dance. So he slowly untangled himself from Yuki's warm embrace and went to relieve himself. When he returned to the room Yuki was sitting up in bed yawning as a Medic Nin took her vitals and questioned her about how she felt. When the nurse was done she shuffled out of the room to her other patients, leaving the two alone.

"Morning," Yuki mumbled as she rolled her shoulder.

"Morning..." After she was done stretching as far as her back would allow, she offered him a smile.

"Thanks for staying with me. You didn't have to."

"It's the least it could do," he admitted. She shook her head, but her smile didn't fade.

"You'd better get going. I bet Kakashi beat you to training today." His eyes widened slightly; he'd completely forgotten. And now he was late. He quickly gathered his gear and offered her a nod before awkwardly leaving the room.

He'd wanted to tell her to feel better or to get some rest, but he couldn't find the words.

As Yuki predicted, even Kakashi had beat him to the bridge that morning. His sensei greeted him with an off handed comment about his tardiness. Naruto questioned him about Yuki and Sakura tried not to look too jealous. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Yuki sat in the hospital room alone, hugging her knees to her chest. Things were a mess. Though the wound on her back had been healed for the most part it still throbbed angrily when she moved the wrong way. But she didn't really care about that. Her mind was on Teru.

_Uncle. _

When she was a child he'd always been as caring as anyone would expect any good uncle to be. Looking back now it was obvious he was just playing nice because it was expected of him, and not because he truly cared her or her family. When her mother died his only comfort had been a gentle pat on the head, he was too busy trying not to sneer at her father to pay any real attention to her. The two had gotten along. If her father and Teru had been left in the same room by themselves a verbal fight was sure to break out - there were even times when it escalated to violence. But that's all it had been, really. A bitter rivalry. It probably would've lasted as long as they both lived had the clan elders not made the decision they did.

Everything changed after that.

It was night and day. Verbal threats became shockingly real overnight. Yuki never wanted to see that accursed blade of his again. And when she saw how close Sasuke had come to falling by it, she just moved.

_Sasuke._

Yuki was surprised at how open he was being. And she was downright shocked that he'd accepted her childish request to stay the night with her in bed. This disappointed her; she was no better than everyone else who assumed he had no heart. Deep down it seemed that Sasuke was a sweet guy, a kid forced to grow up too soon in a harsh, unforgiving world. Truth was she missed him. Hell, she missed company. Tykell was a great companion, but Yuki couldn't handle hospitals.

_Everyone's busy today..._

Just as that thought passed through her mind, a familiar head poked into her room. Kyosuke grinned and let himself in, sitting beside her on the bed.

"Hey, you." He offered with a gentle smile and a comfortable one armed hug. She returned the smile weakly, but wasn't feeling cheery in the least.

"What's up," Kyosuke asked, "something wrong? Are you in pain?" She shook her head.

"I just have a lot on my mind is all." He pushed her away slightly, holding both her shoulders in his hands.

"But you're feeling better?" She nodded. The relief on his face brought her some peace.

"I was so worried." He said shakily, "When I saw you. I didn't think you were even alive. You have no idea how happy I was when you woke up." The look in his eyes was so vulnerable, but determined. "You're one of the only people I truly care about, Yuki." She felt her chest tighten at the words. Kyosuke was one of the only people she still cared about as well. He'd been her first friend in the village, her role model, and the first person she had ever felt... more for. If their roles had been reversed she was sure she'd feel the same way. So she placed a comforting hand on one of his shaking ones and offered him a smile.

"Yuki I..." Kyosuke started, hesitating. He leaned forward slightly.

"I really - I mean..." And then he closed the gap between them.

* * *

Sasuke made his way to Yuki's room rolling his shoulders. Today had been eventful to say the least.

_Chunnin exams..._

Kakashi told them that Yuki would not be participating this year due to her condition. He didn't know how he felt about that. On one hand he was grateful she'd be resting and out of harms way, but on the other he didn't want to go into any combat situation without her reliability. His sensei had sent him to check on her and fill her in on what was happening, much to his other teammates displeasure. Naruto wanted to see how she was doing as well, but they all deemed him too loud for the hospital after the last visit and it was too late. Sakura just wanted some of his time as well. Honestly, Sasuke was hoping she would ask him to stay again. He needed to be well rested to face tomorrow. That and he was starting to miss the way she relaxed him. But as he rounded the corner he caught a glimpse of her room through the crack in her door, and the sight made him stop dead in his tracks.

The purple hair wall guard was _kissing_ her. They were kissing. He didn't know why the thought irked him (understatement of the year, he felt something more akin to rage), but he did know that he wanted to march in there and stop it. He suddenly realized what he was sounding like and took a step back. Was he jealous? Why would he be jealous? No, that couldn't be it... he was just feeling protective. That made more sense. Sasuke didn't know the wall guard at all so it was natural that he distrust the kid initially. But he trusted Yuki's judgment, so the guy couldn't be that bad... He calmed his nerves. When he pushed his way back into the room the two lovebirds had separated and were sharing shy smiles. Sasuke didn't wait for Kyosuke to leave and told Yuki what he'd been sent there to say. After assuring Yuki that the team would be fine without her help to calm her, he nodded his goodbye and left.

He guessed things were going back to normal.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**Fear not**, **things are bound to get better. Also, I like Kyosuke's character, but I decided not to elaborate on their friendship too much. He's a kind hearted guy and whatnot.**

**-A/N-**


	6. A Promise

**-A/N-**

**So I'm currently in the process of moving out and finding a new job along with trying to fix my car all at once. It's been a busy week. I typed the majority of this on my phone at work so there may be a few more mistakes than usual.**

**Reviews get faster updates. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcome. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism**!* **

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki tried not to lean against Kyosuke too much as they made the long walk to the stadium where the finals of the Chunnin Exams were being held. She had faith in her friends and knew both Naruto and Sasuke would make it through to the end. From what Naruto and Sakura have told her, though, the moody Uchiha had been hospitalized for a time after the sudden death match rounds and had then up and vanished. She knew Kakashi had him so she wasn't worried. She just missed him is all. Walking was taking more energy than she realized and was starting to stress her back muscles uncomfortably, but it was good physical therapy. She needed to loosen the scar tissue. So she chose to walk to the event instead of ride in a wheelchair zed spite Kyosuke's protests.

Things between them hadn't really changed...except for the occasional shy peck on the lips and affectionate hand squeeze. Things were moving slow, but then again they were both pretty young. Not that it mattered. Shinobi often married young; the ever present dangers making life unstable and short. They learned to make the most of what they had so no one looked twice when they saw two 14 year olds falling in love. Not that she was _in love_ with Kyosuke (and she doubted he loved her) but it was a nice start to things. He was a good kid and made her happy, so what more could she ask for?

_A good nights sleep maybe..._

Yuki hadn't slept through the night since Sasuke had stayed with her. It wasn't anything unusual, but she needed the rest more than ever. And it didn't help that she had a world of new terrifying images her mind was dreaming up now that she'd seen her uncle try and kill one of her teammates...now that she'd felt that accursed blade tear through her like so many...

"Hey," Kyosuke's soothing voice cut into her thoughts, "You wanna take a break?" She offered him a weak smile and shook her head. She would be fine. Yuki tried not to sigh in relief once the arena came into view. They made they way to their seats up where Sakura was waving at them. Once they were seated Yuki rested her head on Kyosuke's shoulder and stifled a yawn. It wasn't long after that the matches begun. For the most part she was uninterested in the fighting, but watched carefully. It always paid off to know the technique of other Shinobi running around. When it came to Naruto's fight she say up and even cheered a few times. He'd grown a lot since they graduated and seeing him take down a Hyuga made her proud. Naruto may be a knucklehead, but he sure wasn't weak. And he'd proven that in front of the entire village. Though most of them were there to see one fight in particular.

The arena buzzed with the excitement of the upcoming match. The sole survivor of the renowned Uchiha versus the terrifying prodigy of the Sand. Yuki had seen what the boy did to Rock Lee, the enthusiastic green ball of energy she'd met just yesterday. When it finally came time for the match to start the energy in the crowd doubled, but soon faded when only Gara appeared. Yuki wasn't worried, unlike Sakura. She knew Sasuke was with their sensei and if they were moving on Kakashi's time he was probably not going to show until the last second. What she _was _concerned about was the Uchiha's health. Sakura and Naruto described to her the strange mark left on him by Orochimaru in the forest of death. She didn't know very much about cursed marks, but she did know it wasn't going to be good for him in the future. Especially if it were to break out of its seal. From what she heard it immobilized him if the mark didn't activate all the way and against an opponent like Gara that could very well be the end of his life. She shivered uncomfortably at the thought.

Suddenly the crowd began bustling with excitement again and Yuki focused back on the arena where her teammate was standing as indifferently as ever. A gentle smile pulled it's way onto her face at seeing him. Yuki nodded to her sensei who waved.

"Yo," he said cheerily then turned his attention back to the fight that had just begun. As Yuki expected, things escalated quickly. Gara was just as scary as he'd been described and he seemed invincible with his sand swirling and hissing around him. And then there was that eye...There was a reason it was the most anticipated fight of the exams.

And then something changed. It suddenly felt impossible to keep her eyes open...like sleep was forcing itself onto her. All around her people were slumping in their chars, heads drooping to their chests.

_Are those...feathers...?_

Then it clicked. Genjutsu. Yuki released herself immediately and turned to Kyosuke who had done the same. Sakura was up and searching for Naruto. Yuki instantly scanned over the crowd for the culprit, but didn't have the chance to find them. Everything went to hell. A distant explosion rumbled the arena and the sand Shinobi leapt into action. In the midst of the chaos Gara had fled. Sasuke, like the stubborn idiot he was at times, chased after him. Yuki whirled around to try and find the rest of her team, but only spotted a few of the other genin.

_They must have gone after Sasuke. _

Kyosuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the top of the arena seating.

"Listen, the wall is down. I need to get out there, but I don't want you running around. I'll take you to the safe zone and I want you to stay there ok?"

"Kyo I'll be fine. I need to go after Sasuke."

"No, you don't. You're not healed yet. I don't want to risk you getting injured again," he cupped her face in his hands, "Everything's going to be alright, ok? Have faith in your friends." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and gripped her wrist again. She didn't resist when he started pulling her away from the battle to the evacuation area. Tykell stayed close behind her as if waiting for her to fall.

_I'm not a doll...I'm not going to break...I can fight._

The village was a mess. Shinobi clashed above the streets destroying rooftops and leveling buildings. In the distance Yuki would make out a gaping hole in the wall. They moved as quickly as they could avoiding conflict as much as possible. They reached a gap in the buildings and were forced to land on the ground to pick through the rubble. A Leaf Nin crashed down in front of them, laying motionless staring ahead. Kyosuke skidded to a stop and raised his kuni. The man's attacker, a Sound Nin, landed a few feet away and pointed his katana at them menacingly. His eyes shown with glee. No words were said. They clashed in the middle swinging their respective weapons in a flurry of arches and jabs, parrying back and forth. Yuki snuck around the battle, ducking behind a slab of rock to get a better angle. She watched them struggle for a few more seconds before forming the familiar hand sign with right hand and taking in a deep breath. It had been a long time since she'd used that technique and even I get since anyone had seen her use it. Her clan's kekkei genkai may not be a renowned as the Uchiha or Hugga abilities, but it was nonetheless deadly. She waited until Kyosuke had the mans back facing her before striking, pointing her arm towards the Sound Nin. With a rapid hiss, the wind around her arm twisted violently down the appendage and lashed out at her target knocking him several feet away and leaving and assortment of deep wounds along his back. Kyosuke's eyes widened temporarily, but he nodded in appreciation.

"That was good move," he said with a grin. She smiled back, relieved that the immediate danger was over. Well, until a sickening laughter echoed from behind her. Tykell let out a threatening growl as She whirled around, staggering back as Teru lunged towards her. She slid to a stop beside Kyosuke and raised her arms, her chakra preparing for another attack. Teru held his sword by his side with a steady glare on his face.

"A good move for a whelp maybe. You will never understand the true power of the Suzume, boy. Now step aside before I remove your head from your body." He swung his sword so it was now readied and pointed towards them.

"You won't touch her."

Kyosuke pushed himself in front of Yuki and with a determined yell charged at the man.

"Kyo don't!" He didn't listen. She started running after him, but a twisted pain erupted in her back and she collapsed to her knees, "Kyo!" Tykell looked conflicted as he hesitated between helping the wall guard or his master. He chose to stay beside Yuki, pressing against her to try and get her to stand. Teru lunged forward with a snarl. Kyosuke only managed to parry his blows twice. On the third attack he lost his weapon. On the fourth he...

It was like reliving her worst nightmare. Her cries were lost, echoing around her head uselessly as she watched Teru push Kyosuke's body off his sword where he was raised in the air to hit the ground with a hollow thud. Teru swung his sword to remove the blood, splattering the red liquid further around the rubble. It felt like her heart stopped. The familiar sting in her eyes brought her back to reality. A reality where her uncle was standing in front of her covered in the blood of another important person.

"So young and full of ignorance. Did he think I was joking? Another lesson learned I suppose," He finished sneering at the body and turned his gaze back to her. Yuki was suddenly filled with terror. She didn't want him to catch her. She _knew_ he would get the information he needed once he did. Yuki was scared. So using her Jutsu she kicked up the dust in the clearing and she ran, ducking between buildings and backtracking, hoping that Teru would be stopped by another opponent. Tykell gave out small huffs and growls, leading her to a collapsed building where she crawled into a small cavity under the rubble. Only once they were safely tucked away did she finally let a choked sob escape her.

_Everything's going to be alright, ok? Have faith in your friends._

"Oh, god," She whimpered and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't do this. She was a fool to even believe she could handle this responsibility alone. Teru was unstoppable _now_. There was no telling what kind of hell he would cause if he managed to get what he needed from her. The things they kept in those vaults...

_No. I won't let it happen. I can't give him that power. _

A numb determination filled her. Yuki knew what she needed to do. So after wiping the tears from her face and planting a tender kiss on Tykell's head, she crawled out of her hiding place.

"Stay," She said pointedly. Tykell whined but didn't pursue her as she leapt out towards the battle. Her heart clenched painfully. It wasn't her way to abandon her comrades...but some things needed to be done. She was willing to make this sacrifice for the greater good. Yuki landed on the roof of a taller building and scanned over the battles raging over the village. Picking out a particularly large one, she began moving. The pain was excruciating at times, but she pressed on. Once she was in the thick of things she picked a target and lobbed a kunai at them sloppily, missing on purpose. The shinobi she attacked turned on her immediately.

_Perfect._

She raised another kunai in a mock fighting stance.

"Yuki!" A distant voice called..She glanced up long enough to see Iruka making his way towards her as fast as he could.

"Sorry Sensei," She mumbled and turned back to her opponent, lowering her arms. The Sound Nin didn't hesitate to strike.

And for the second time in a week Yuki felt metal tearing through her skin.

* * *

_This again,_ Sasuke thought as he watched the broken village through the hospital window. Both Naruto and Sakura were sitting beside a sleeping Yuki in her hospital bed. A sick feeling made it's way into his stomach as Iruka's words played over in his head again.

_It was like Yuki was _trying _to get herself killed... I know she definitely let it happen..._

And where had they been? Chasing after his wounded pride. God, he'd almost gotten the other two members of his teamed killed by pulling that stunt and Yui's well being had barely crossed his mind. When it had he'd shrugged off his worry thinking Kyosuke would be able to protect her. His photo had been among the others at the Hokage's funeral. The wall guard had been stabbed through the chest by a large blade similar to the one used on Yuki. No one saw it happen, but Sasuke was sure it had been Teru. The others believed it, too.

"Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto broke the silence. Kakashi hummed in response.

"Why would her own uncle want to kill her?" Kakashi sighed.

"He doesn't want to kill her, Naruto. At least until he gets what he needs anyway."

"It still doesn't make sense! What does she have that he wants?" Naruto suddenly paused, "And what about her family?" His voice had lowed at the end. Kakashi sighed again and put his book back into his pouch.

"Well, I wanted Yuki to be the one to talk to you all bout this, but I guess you deserve to know given the situation. The Suzume clan has always been apart of the Leaf Village, but never actually lived within the walls. They never had any Shinobi in our ranks either. Instead anyone who practiced ninjutsu called themselves Samurai, renowned for their ability to bend and twist air to their will. But the greatest pride the Suzume had was the Vaults located under their compound. No one knew how they were built. The doors to these vaults were found deep within a cave system that ran under the compound where the Suzume kept them secret. The Leaf village had several sacred and for idem scrolls, artifacts, and weapons stored there and the clan was charged with protecting them. In return the Leaf Village provided them with military support and protection during the Great Ninja Wars and from other villages. Gale, the compound was called, was off limits. Not that anyone would be able to break into the vaults and steal what was inside.

The vaults themselves were just wide rooms carved into the rock, but it was the doors that made them special. The Suzume designed them to open only when a complex pass code is written on the scroll embedded in the door. To keep any one person in the clan from having all the power, the passcode was broken into parts and given to the heads of all the families and the elders. Once one part of the code was written on the scroll it would fade. To open the door each person with a piece of the puzzle would have to go into the caves alone and write their part. That way the vault would stay closed unless it was agreed upon by all the people in charge. It was a very effective system. Recently, however, the younger members of the clan had begun questioning the reasoning behind them guarding our dangerous items with no real pay. It was peacetime, so the benefits of the Leaf's protection were hard to see. So they devised a plan to connect the village and the clan. They would send one of the younger children to train as a Shinobi in the village. That person, naturally, would have to be in a position of power to connect their clan to the Leaf, so members of the Leader's family were all that was considered. The second part of their plan was to make that person able to open the vaults on their own. Now I don't know why they decided this, I suspect corruption in the Elders, but it was agreed upon unanimously. Teru offered himself up as the Drifter, as they called it. They denied him. He wasn't young enough and was already a successful fighter. That and they could see the darkness in his heart as plain as day. Hard to control someone who has their mind set on breaking free of that control. So they decided on Yuki, the Clan Head's daughter.

One by one each member with a part of the code took her into the tunnels and taught her their piece. It was very...ceremonial. Yuki was the youngest to ever receive a piece, when her mother died, so they all viewed her as some sort of future hero. Like a prophet of sorts. Naturally, Teru wasn't happy with this arrangement and demanded to be the last to share his piece. They granted him the request, but everyone suspected treachery. So when the day came Yuki's father accompanied her down to the vaults where he planned to stand with his back turned on the process and Teru snapped. Back in the village the Hokage had organized a small group of Anbu to escort her back to the village, but we were waiting for word from the Elders before moving out. After an entire day went by the Third finally gave the order for us to move out. We were too late. By the time we arrived Teru had done away with everyone besides Yuki. The compound itself was burning. We found them down in the vaults. If we hadn't shown when we had, then he would've gotten what he needed from Yuki and killed her too. We interviened, but he escaped. Yuki was brought to the village and here we are today." The room fell into a dark silence. Sasuke couldn't exactly describe how he was feeling...pity...understanding...rage...Suspecting something and knowing it to be true were two entirely different things. He had hoped that Yuki hadn't suffered through the same things as he had...

"Well why would she do something like this then? There's no way Yuki would tell that bastard anything!"Naruto stood from his seated position in a huff.

"I'm not sure what it is, but Teru has a jutsu that allowed him to extract the information from the other clan members. Whatever it is, I can guarantee that it's forbidden. Think about it like this, Teru can't get what he needs from her if she isn't alive to tell it." Naruto flinched at Kakashi's bluntness and Sakura let out a small gasp. Their Sensei sighed.

"Listen. Whatever happens, whatever she says, we need to be there for her. Yuki needs to know she isn't alone in this. And remember," Kakashi made eye contact with all of them, "This was _not_ an act of cowardice. It was an act of sacrifice."

Sasuke turned away from the man and glared out the window. He wanted...he didn't know what he wanted but he was sure that Yuki would be able to provide it. He did know that he would rather be sitting beside her like the rest of his team instead of far window, but he didn't need to deal with the reactions to his strange behavior right now.

_Yuki..._

Sasuke understood what she must have been feeling when Kyosuke died. He'd thought about Itachi coming back often enough to know how much fear lay behind the idea of losing more people to someone who already took away so much...though she definitely handled the situation differently than he would've. If it had been Itachi, Sasuke wouldn't have hesitated to attack even if it meant his death. Instead Yuki ran. He let a soft sigh escape him, unnoticed by his team.

_If she isn't going to fight him,_ he thought, _then I will for her. I'm not going to let him win. _

And Sasuke knew the rest of Team Seven was thinking the same.

* * *

Yuki wasn't in the hospital for much longer. Once she woke up she only needed to stay the one night. Sakura volunteered to stay with her so Sasuke didn't get the chance to talk to her like he'd wanted. When she was awake she had sat staring blankly into space most of the time so he didn't even get the opportunity to do more than nod in her direction...once she was released from the hospital the day after her stay Naruto had _insisted _they go out for a team diner since it had been a while due to the exams and the attack...and Yuki being in the hospital...She was a good sport about it and smiled softly in the idiot's direction, though she ate very little of the ramen the blonde had bought for her. She participated in the conversation when it was necessary, but for the most part remained silent. Kakashi left after they finished their meal claiming he had important paperwork to do. They all knew he was lying. The walk to Yuki's was filled with Naruto's and Sakura's happy chatter. Yuki smiled whenever they turned to her, but would go back to staring emptily at the ground once they were looking away. After this had happened three times Sasuke lightly touched her arm. She looked at him questioningly and he raised his eyebrow. A small smile, more genuine than the others, twitched at the corner of her mouth. Sasuke nodded at returned to looking forward, but his mock indifference faltered when he felt her soft hand grip his own for a few seconds. They made sure Yuki didn't need anything once they got her home and one by one filtered out to their own homes. Sasuke had been the first to leave. He'd caught on to the almost suspicious glances Sakura would give the two when she thought he wasn't looking. He didn't want any radical conclusions. He waited until the others were gone before readying himself to go back over, but then hesitated. He didn't exactly know what to say...or what he even _wanted _to say. Just when he was about to give up and wait until morning Tykell's bark began ringing through the streets. Sasuke glanced out his window to see the dog outside Yuki's front door pawing at the wood desperately.

_What's going on?_

Sasuke left his own house in a rush, finding Yuki's door locked. Tykell whined and began barking again. Sasuke tried knocking, but there was no answer. Sasuke was _just_ there. He knew she was home and there was no way she had fallen asleep with Tykell being so loud. At that point Sasuke began imagining a number of reasons why Yuki was silent and why her dog was locked outside.

_Something's wrong. _

Sasuke leapt up to the window he knew was broken and pushed his way into her bedroom, looking around. Yuki wasn't there. He ran down the hallway and made it down her stair where he found her in the kitchen. Time slowed when he noticed the kuni she was holding, thrusting it towards herself. In an instant his sharingan was activated and he was moving. He tackled her from behind hissing as the metal bit into his forearm. They crashed to the ground heavily as Yuki tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She cried and twisted again in his arms. He let out a grunt and wrestled the kuni from her grasp tossing it to the other side of the room. She lashed out again, landing a kick in his side and managing to break free. He tackled her again and forced her to the ground by pressing on her shoulders. She cried out in pains and stopped struggling.

"What are you doing?!" Sasuke demanded. Yuki looked away from him defiantly. Angry tears had gathered in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment.

"I can't let him win." She ground out.

"So you're going to _kill yourself?_ You think that's going to solve _anything?_ God, Yuki you idiot!" At that point the tears had started rolling freely down her cheeks. She was trembling underneath him.

"I'm so scared..." She whispered. Sasuke started slightly at the confession and, for a split second, he was his own fears reflected in the girls eyes beneath him. He knew that fear all too well...So he shifted off her and gathered her in his arms. He was still pretty rattled from before, but allowed her to cry into his shoulder. Eventually his rage ebbed away, forming into concern for Yuki. She had just tried to kill herself for the second time. If he hadn't showed up when he did she would be dead. He was starting to realize that Yuki was one of the only people that he could connect to...one of the only people that he actually cared about. And he wasn't going to let her throw her life away.

"Me too," He admitted softly. She sniffed and lifted her head.

"About what," she almost snapped.

"I'm scared that you're going to just be gone one day and that there would nothing I could do about it. I don't...I don't want to lose you. I don't want to lose anybody." She looked down again.

"You have no idea what will happen if he gets ahold of me..."

"Yes, I do. I'll kill him. No one hurts my friends." It was strange admitting this out loud. He felt it with every fiber of his being, and he'd even proved it a few times, but he'd never actually voiced it. These people were his family now and he didn't want to lose them too.

"Sasuke..." He lifted her head and locked eyes with her.

"Promise me, Yuki. Promise me you won't ever try anything like this again. And I'll promise to keep you safe from him." She shook her head.

"But Kyo...he couldn't...Teru will kill you too..."

"There's no way I'd let someone like him beat me. I have goals to reach before I die and I won't let anything stop me from achieving them. If that means I have to put in how ever much training time it takes to keep him away from you then so be it. You know what it's like to lose people, Yuki...don't make me go through that again. Promise me." Her eyes raged with confliction. He could see the despair and the terror eating away at her logic. But eventually she nodded.

"Ok...I promise," she whispered, "As long as you keep your end of the deal. That means you can't die either." She buried her face in his chest again and Sasuke sighed and tightened his hold on her.

_This girl...how does she do this to me?_

He meant what he said. He _would _ protect her. He didn't know how yet, but he would get there. And when he did...

_I'll keep you safe even if that means..._

Yuki shifted.

"Thank you..."She mumbled into his shirt.

"It's fine, really. You would do the same for me." She nodded and pulled away, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. That night Yuki asked Sasuke to stay with her again and the two fell asleep content in knowing they had each other's back when trying face the world.

* * *

**-A/N-**

I really don't like the last line at all, but I was having a really hard time trying to close this off. More to come soon hopefully. R&amp;R please.

**-A/N-**


	7. Taken

**-A/N-**

**Another time skip here. Keeping the ball rolling. **

**Is anyone interested in making the cover art for this story? If so pm me and we'll talk. Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcome. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Sasuke looked down at Yuki contentedly, letting a soft sigh escape him. Since she and him had made their deal they had kept up the sleeping arrangement he found himself in. They usually stayed at Yuki's, where she was more comfortable, but their last mission had been a long one and his place was closer. Even if it was only by a couple of feet. She was currently curled up against him with her head resting on his chest still sleeping peacefully. Yuki hadn't slept at all on their mission, so it was understandable. He on the other hand had woken up about an hour ago, but had no intention of moving. It was moments like these that he cherished the most out of their friendship. He reached out and tucked a pale strand of hair out of her face. These last weeks had been hard on all of them. Naruto was trying harder than ever to be the 'best' of the group, so the number of screw-ups was starting to reach an all time high. Sakura had caught on to the steadily growing closeness between him and Yuki and had started giving Yuki the cold shoulder. Yuki, though showing some slight improvement, had withdrawn herself from the others. She reminded him of when they had first become a team, always quiet and staring off into space. At least she had kept good on her end of the promise up until this point. Sasuke himself was starting to question his own promise to her... well at least his ability to carry it out anyway. He was starting to realize that the training he was receiving from Kakashi alone wasn't going to cut it. Naruto was progressing at a much more rapid pace since he started working with Jiraiya and even Sakura was beginning to excel in medical jutsu. How was he supposed to beat Itachi and protect Yuki if everyone around him was getting stronger while he stayed in the same place? And what's more, he was starting to realize that Yuki was rapidly becoming more and more important to him. At first he thought it was general concern, so he used that as scapegoat until recently. In the last few weeks his 'concern' had transitioned into a painfully obvious(well on his part anyway) attraction.

Now Sasuke had been physically attracted to people before, he _was_ human after all, but this was different. It was more a constant need to be around her or to hear her voice... it was hard for him to put into words. And he couldn't believe his luck either. He basically had every girl around his age willing to marry him on the spot, but the one person he ended up actually caring about wasn't one of them. His eyes locked on her slightly parted lips in longing. It had been the only problem he'd had so far with his newfound discovery. Resisting the temptation was steadily growing harder and harder.

_It's probably hormones, _he thought. It was a pitiful excuse. He sighed softly. In any other circumstance he would've just gone for it. Sasuke went after the things he wanted. But she had just lost Kyosuke. He didn't know how far that relationship would've gone or how much she actually felt for the boy, but his death had sent her into a mental pit of depression. It wasn't uncommon for her to skip out on team diners in favor of sitting atop the wall alone gazing out at the world. Except this time, she wasn't looking in awe or wonder. In fact, he didn't think she was actually looking at all. Sasuke didn't think she would appreciate him taking their relationship further than it currently was so soon after losing her last romantic interest. Guilt twitched inside him. If he had been there...

"Hey," Yuki's sleepy voice startled him. She was watching him from under her heavy eyelids, "Stop. It wasn't your fault."

"Yuki..." They'd had this conversation before. Several times, in fact. Sasuke sat up, careful not to shift Yuki too suddenly in case she twisted wrong, and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"You can't change what happened, Sasuke. Beating yourself up over the past isn't doing you any good."

"Oh? Then what _should _I do, because no matter what you say, I _should _have been able to protect you." Yuki pulled his face back so he was looking at her.

"You need to accept that it happened. That doesn't mean you need to forget or move on, just... don't let it rule your life." He scoffed and jerked his head away from her grip.

"And how do I do that? It happened, I know that, I've accepted it." Yuki sighed and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. He immediately felt her calm sweeping through him, but he still didn't look up.

"Your way of dealing with your emotions is by lashing out and getting angry, Sasuke," He heard the ruffle of cloth as her hand left him, "Sometimes you just need to take the time to allow them out in their own way. You are allowed to feel guilty, but you aren't allowed to be angry at yourself." He turned to look at her but immediately looked away. He could feel the color rising in his cheeks. She had turned her back to him and removed her shirt (which was bundled against her chest) , exposing her naked back and the long pale scar that ran along it.

"Don't look away. This is a part of my life now, and it's also a part of yours." He hesitated before turning back. The wound had completely healed save for the pale scar tissue that rose slightly higher than the surrounding skin. He swallowed uncomfortable, remembering the day it had been a gaping wound slowly stealing Yuki's life away. From where he was he could just make out the pink marks from her most recent injury curling around her side. His anger flared again, but he stopped himself. The whole point of this was for him to _not_ be mad for once. So with a slightly shaking hand he reached out and brushed the smooth skin, running it along the scar down her back. It took a second (a _very_ long second) but eventually the anger ebbed away. The guilt was eating at him so much that his hand flinched away and he wrung his eyes shut. He felt her hand on his face, coaxing him to look at her again. Her shirt had been replaced and now she sat staring at him with forgiveness in her eyes.

"Yuki I-"

"It's ok, Sasuke. I don't blame you," Her eyes were so genuine. So tender. She rested her forehead against his and he could feel the tension leaving his body. He closed his eyes again. She had been right, of course. Yuki was always right when it came to him... he felt a hundred times better. Well about one thing at least. He let out a long breath. He was going to be late if he didn't start moving.

"I need to go," he mumbled. Yuki nodded and gave him a short hug before finally letting him stand. He watched as she vanished into his bathroom before gathering his things.

_How do you do this to me?_

* * *

Yuki rolled her shoulder as the Medic Nin instructed, but wasn't really paying attention to what the woman was saying.

_So young and full of ignorance. Did he think I was joking?_

Her fear and the sorrow of losing Kyo had overwhelmed her that day she tried to put an end to it all. Overtime it had all jumbled so much that all she was feeling was numb. Especially when she was alone, which wasn't that often unless it was self imposed. She just couldn't bring herself to stop going to the wall. It had been such a steady tradition since she came here and Kyosuke had been...

He was such a sweet kid. He didn't deserve to die. She breathed in deeply as the Medic Nin ran some chakra into her side, mumbling about torn tissue.

_What a shame, _she thought bitterly, _if that damn ninja had done his job right... _She could picture Sasuke's reaction had he heard her say that. It was frustrating. Honestly she didn't know why she humored him and accepted that stupid deal. It was her life. It should be her choice. She sighed softly. She knew that wasn't true. It was selfish of her to think like that especially when it came to her more broody teammate. Yuki had no clue what had promoted him to open up to her, but she did know that he was slowly starting to exhibit abandonment problems. It was understandable. Yuki had them too. And their sleeping arrangements weren't helping that either. Though it _had _been years since Yuki had slept so soundly and she had a feeling it was the same with Sasuke. She had definitely noticed a change in his attitude lately. If anything Sasuke was less grouchy and was more patient than usual. It was surprising how much a good nights sleep affected a person. Though Yuki suspected that Sasuke was really a sweet guy underneath all that overblown male bravado. And despite how irked she was with him for interfering, she was grateful to have him around. He distracted her from a lot of her problems and provided a nice blanket of protection. And he was a comfortable pillow.

After the Medic Nin was done with her basic physical therapy Yuki had to go back to her doctor for another checkup. She had to repeat most of what she had already done with the physical therapist and watched as the woman poked and prodded her newest injury with a bored expression. This one hadn't been as bad as her back, but it caused her more pain. Every now and then the muscles on her back would tense and send pain rushing through her. The one on her side had kept up a constant throbbing. The doctor hummed.

"Looks like this one is having trouble, huh?" Yuki nodded, "Well I could try and speed things up and take the risk of nerve damage or we could let it patch up a little more before moving onto chakra healing..."

"I want to wait a little bit." The Doctor nodded and stood, disappearing through the door. Once she returned she handed Yuki teo plastic pill bottles and a paper prescription.

"There are only a few doses of these just to test them out and play with the side effects. They're pain meds. And this one has a minor stimulant. It isn't the same as chakra healing, but will speed up the process just a little. It'll hurt more, but will send you on the right path to recovery. Though I recommend at least one week before you go on anymore missions," She concluded sternly. She explained the prescription to Yuki and they went over a projected timeline of what was to come. After she was done, Yuki thanked the Medical staff and left the building wondering if Sasuke was done training with Kakashi yet. Naruto was leaving on a small training mission with that old man and Sakura wasn't particularly fond of her at the moment, so he was the only other option (Kakashi was out of the question). Yuki didn't want to be alone for too long. So she decided to take Tykell out to the training grounds to let him run around for a bit. And if Sasuke was done with his lunch then she would probably find him there as well. As she suspected, she detected his chakra as she approached the grounds. Tykell bounded off in front of her to greet the Uchiha, leaving her to mosey along behind him. Yuki wasn't feeling up to running; always coming back from her appointments more sore than when she arrived. By the time she had made it back to the clearing Tykell was curled under a tree in the shade and Sasuke had resumed training. She plopped down next to her dog and ran a hand through his fur affectionately. Yuki watched her teammate train for a few minutes before trying to find a comfortable spot and closing her eyes. This new medication was making her drowsy. She soon began dozing on and off while Sasuke trained. At some point a rustling noise pulled her from the depths of sleep. Sasuke was sat in front of her drinking from a water bottle. A mischievous smile formed on her lips and she sat up, draping herself over him in a very Ino-like fashion.

"So," She cooed is a mocking voice, "How'd your date with Kakashi go? Hmm?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, but didn't push her away. She had been the only person to get away with this.

"It was fine," He grumbled. His face had fallen slightly when she had told him she couldn't make it to the lunch outing due to her appointment. She imagined that it had been very awkward with just the two of them, but then again she didn't know how Kakashi and Sasuke interacted with each other when they were alone. The Uchiha and him _had _spent all that time training together before the Finals during the Exams. Maybe they had formed some sort of Sensei/Student bond.

"What did the doctor say?"

"That I need to take it easy. It's too dangerous to try chakra healing yet, so she gave me these pills instead. They make me feel weird."

"Yeah? Well you're acting weird too," She chuckled softly and let him go, sitting beside him. He passed her the water bottle and watched her drink out of the corner of his eye, "How long are they thinking?"

"A week, maybe. It depends on how well the pills work and how much rest I get. I'm basically under house arrest." He frowned and looked away. She knew he wouldn't like hearing that, but he seemed a little more upset. In fact, something had been up with him the last couple of days and she couldn't seem to figure out what.

"Hey, what's up?" He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Don't act clueless. What's wrong?" His eyes narrowed slightly and he looked away again.

"Nothing," he snipped and stood, heading back out to train. Yuki felt her eye twitch. If he was avoiding it that meant she was right though, so now was the time to get it out of him before he prepared himself better. So she waited until he was sufficiently distracted before making her move. Once his guard was down she launched herself at his back and tackled him to the ground.

"Yuki!" They wrestled for a second before she pinned him beneath her.

"Tell me what's wrong, Hard Head."

"Nothings wrong," he ground out.

"Liar," She hissed back. He flipped them over, reversing their positions. Once she was stuck under him his glare softened and, for a split second, she saw. His eyes widened slightly in realization and he rolled off, laying in the grass beside her.

"Sorry," He mumbled and turned on his side away from her.

Yuki sat there stunned for a moment. She literally had no idea that he was starting to feel that way towards her and she didn't know how to react either. For one thing, a bunch of stuff was starting to make sense. That knowledge didn't help at all. That meant that for the last few weeks she had been leading him on... or at least causing him false hope. No that wasn't it. Sasuke was smart. He wouldn't try anything if he knew she didn't want it. So that had to be it then. He was beating himself up again and going against his other emotions because he knew about her and Kyosuke. She sighed and wrapped her arms around him again. She might not be able to give him what he wanted, but she could give him the opportunity to _say _what he wanted.

"You can talk to me, you know?"

"I know..."

"About anything."

"I know," She shifted uncomfortably. Sasuke knew she was on the same page now.

"So start talking?" He was silent. She sighed again. This boy needed to learn how to use his words.

"Sasuke..." He turned slowly, his eyes unguarded. He reached out and tucked a hair out of her face.

"You need to stop worrying about how I feel, Yuki," he mumbled softly, "I know you... it... I can wait." Her eyes softened.

"Not everything has to revolve around me you know..."

"Realy. I'm fine as long as you're alive and safe." She smiled and nuzzled into his chest. They laid there in the sun like that for about an hour. Yuki dozed on and off for the most part as Sasuke played absently with her hair. He seemed much more relaxed now that it was out in the open and she hadn't pushed him away. What did he think would happen? More intense things had gone on between them... she wished his priorities were arranged better. Especially now. Sasuke's life up until this point had definitely not been a walk in the park, but he insisted on putting her before himself no matter how it made him feel. He deserved to be happy for once.

_I'm fine as long as you're alive and safe_.

He had said he would wait. Was he planning on waiting for her to start reciprocating his feelings or maybe waiting until she was at a better mental state before making his move? She wished he would just go for it. Yuki had always been good at acting, she would be able to pull if off. And who knows, maybe it would help things speed up? Maybe she would actually start feeling for him in that way.

_That's no good, _she thought, _I can't lead him on like that even if it would make him happy. If he ever found out things would get so much worse. Better just let things runs their course. _

Eventually, Sasuke jerked underneath her causing her to fully wake. He had drifted off for a second.

"Bad dream?" She mumbled and sat up beside him. He shook his head.

"It's probably a bad idea for us to do this here. If Ino decided to swing by..." He shivered unpleasantly. Yuki let out a soft chuckle at the haunted look that adorned his face and was soon straight out laughing. Sasuke scoffed and folded his arms.

"Laugh all you want, it won't be a pretty sight for either of us and you know it," but by the end a weak smile had twitched onto his lips.

"What are you dreaming about Ino for, huh?" She wiggled here eyes suggestively, "You know, rumor has it you like a girl with long hair." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"I have no idea who started that. At the time I wasn't even thinking about girls."

"Oh, but you do now? Miss Blonde Bimbo _is _pretty cute. I heard she was all over you during the exams," she smirked.

"What? No it isn't like that. It was probably because you were acting like her- it threw me off," he looked away, flustered. Yuki laughed again shoving him playfully.

"I'm just giving you a hard time."

"I know." He sighed and looked at the clouds, "It isn't like Kakashi to be this late," he added suddenly serious. Yuki frowned. He was right. Their Sensei was supposed to meet them there to discuss something with them and would've usually appeared with some lame excuse by now.

"You're right. Maybe something came up... or he blew us off." Sasuke nodded.

"Well I'm going to go look for him," he stood and offered her a hand, "I'll check his place. You want to see if Gai knows where he is? Those idiots are probably at it again." Yuki shook her head and motioned for Tykell to come. They agreed to meet back at the clearing in an hour. As Yuki was leaving Sasuke's hand gripped her wrist. When she turned a questioning eye his way he hesitated then let her go.

"What?"

"I just... Do you want to get food? After this, I mean..." She smiled softly at the red color that began tinting his face. He turned away suddenly more interested in the grass than her.

"Sure thing. But no ramen," She offered him a small smile. His face lit up slightly before he nodded once in her direction. Yuki turned and started running back the way she came, waving behind her.

_If I can't fix myself,_ she thought determinedly, _then maybe I can fix him. _

* * *

Yuki sighed and plopped down on a bench in the market. Tykell sat in front of her and whined, licking her face. She reached up and have him a good scratch on the ears.

"I'm ok, Tyke. Just a bit tired is all." She hadn't been able to find Gai anywhere, which wasn't unusual, but she _had_ noticed some of the on duty Shinobi growing restless. Something was going on. As if the village needed anymore trouble. With no Hokage to take the reins the Ninja had all been on high alert, fully expecting another attack or an attempt at seizing power. But this... this was different. It seemed the news was being spread word of mouth instead of a higher power informing everyone.

_I guess there's just one way to find out. _

Yuki stood and took to the roof tops, spotting a small group of Chunin heading to the wall. She leapt after them, calling out.

"Hey! Wait up!" One of them slowed until she caught up.

"What's going on?" The young man looked grim.

"Itachi Uchiha broke into the village and attacked Kakashi and Gai. I think he's after Naruto right now," the man concluded. He didn't wait for her to react, catching up with his comrades and continuing on his way. Yuki stopped. If Kakashi was down...

"Sasuke!" She switched directions. There was no doubt in her mind that news had reached the Uchiha and the idiot probably took off. If he hadn't already, she was sure he would. So instead of waiting time trying to find him she began making the trip in the direction she knew Naruto and Jiraiya were traveling.

"Let me know when you pick up his scent, Bud." Tykell barked in agreement. If she found Naruto then there was no way she would be left out of the fight this time. As they neared a town, Tykell barked again. He altered their path slightly and she followed close behind. Tyke had found Naruto. They raced through the crowded streets weaving in between vendors and people.

"This isn't working," She leapt to the rooftops. To hell with being discreet. As they flew over the buildings Yuki spotted Sasuke sprinting from hotel to hotel below her.

"Sasuke!" She called as they passed by him. He skid to a stop, spotted them, and jumped up behind her.

"What are you doing?" He yelled after her.

"Helping. Naruto is this way." Sasuke easily caught up to them, urging them on. As they neared the building Naruto was staying in Yuki picked up on two overwhelming chakra signatures. Sasuke powered forward.

"Go home, Yuki!" He barked, bursting into the building.

_I am _not _a child._

Yuki hit the the ground and sprinted up the stairs. She could hear Sasuke's Chidori roaring to life above her. It was soon followed by an explosion that shook the building. Tykell bounded ahead of her growling threateningly. She rounded the corner just in time to see Sasuke, who was screaming, pinned to the wall by someone she assumed was Itachi. The hallway was surrounded in a pink fleshy substance before she could rush in like she wanted. Sasuke had gone eerily silent, his body stuck in the wall. Itachi turned in retreat and locked eyes with her. Recognition dawned in the red irises. Yuki began backtracking as the two cloaked men ran towards her. The wall behind her explode in black flames, temporarily distracting her. Tykell launched at the blue man, but was violently kicked to the side. Yuki immediately regretted following the dogs flying body as her eyes once again locked with the sharingan. She was instantly dizzy, the world around her fading into back as her body fell backwards through the hole. She could hear Naruto's distant yelling, but only for a moment.

The last thing she was able to see was the hotel's shrinking form as she was carried away.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**I felt really rushed throughout this whole thing...I hope it turned out right. **

**Again, if you would like to do some cover art for this story I would appreciate it. I am not artistically inclined at **_**all**_**. **

**Reviews hep me out and keep me motivated, yo! So be kind and leave me one.**

**Thanks for reading. **

**-A/N-**


	8. Making Deals

**-A/N-**

**I know, it's very late. Incase you missed it, I went through with my wonderful beta, ****HayleyComet,**** and have been going back and editing each chapter, so look those over if you want. Thanks for your hard work Hayley! I even split chapter 3 in half and added a whole new mission scene so go back and check it out. **

**R&amp;R**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. **

*All criticism is welcome. I want you to tell me what works. I want you to tell me what sucks. I won't know unless you say something. Negative criticism is Productive criticism!*

**-A/N-**

* * *

Yuki held the piercing gaze of the blue skinned man in front of her with determination. The man had repeatedly told her his name was 'Kisame', but she had resolved to keep calling him 'Gills' instead. She knew it was probably a bad idea to provoke her kidnapper, but she didn't have any option other than sit there and be compliant. There was no was Yuki was cooperating with known Rogues- Especially those at notorious as the two in front of her. Currently, Yuki had no clue where they were. She had awoken in this cave, arms and legs bound with a throbbing headache, several hours ago and had only been able to get a rise out of Gills. Itachi, however, had remained silent and promptly ignored her jabs and useless threats. Despite this, she had kept up the 'tough act' in front of them both in order to send the message that she _wasn't_ going to be cooperative. Truth was she was terrified. Thankfully the two men hadn't been hostile towards her thus far and hadn't given any indication of what they were after. But Yuki wasn't stupid. The Uchiha could easily obtain the code to the Vaults from her mind if he were to try hard enough. And she was sure these two would be able to subdue Teru and do the same to him.

_I can't believe I didn't consider this, _She reprimanded herself, _Of course there would be other Shinobi after me. I was careless, rushing after Sasuke like that. _

Yuki had never considered Itachi Uchiha. She had always trusted in her ability to withstand torture and had even undergone training with members of the Yamanaka clan, per the Third Hokage's orders. She _knew_ the passcode would be safe. Well, if it had been any other Shinobi. Itachi, however, possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan. She didn't have any clue how the eyes worked, but she knew they were definitely strong enough to surpass the meager training she'd received. A sick feeling pooled in her stomach at the thought. Yuki knew what was in those vaults. It was obvious what the Akatsuki sought within them.

"_Daddy?"_

"_What is it sweetie?" Her father looked down at her fondly and tightened his hold on her tiny hand. They were returning home after a long visit with the Elder's and Yuki was eager to get back to her toys. The old people were all so _boring. _But this trip had perked her interest slightly. _

"_What do we keep behind the big Door?" Her father laughed. _

"_We keep a lot in there, Yuki."_

"_Like what?"  
_

"_Let's just say it's all very important. And our clan keeps it safe."_

"_Do I help keep it safe?" He laughed again. _

"_No, not yet, but you will one day soon." She grinned. _

"_Well when I _am _helping you won't have to ever worry, because I'll be the best at keeping the Door safe," She declared proudly. Her father's smile didn't waver. _

"_I bet you will, Yuki."_

Yuki withheld the sudden burst of emotion within her chest. Now was not the time to show weakness. It was a difficult task. Her eyes filled with the familiar sting that accompanied crying, she couldn't get her hands to stop shaking, and no matter how she looked at it, Yuki _knew_ she wasn't going to get out of this situation. She tried desperately to access the endless pool of enthusiasm that Naruto displayed in these situations. She wanted his optimism. Hell Naruto would probably find a way to mess up _so badly _that it would work in their favor and they would make it out alive. But Naruto wasn't there. Her team wasn't there. And the hope she wished she held wasn't there either. Yuki was just a measly gennin tied up in a room with two S-ranked criminals.

_I... I failed, _she thought hopelessly, _I failed my parents. I failed my clan. They all died for nothing. Everything we worked for is going to be undone by an organization I didn't even knew existed. _

Yuki's attention was grabbed by Gills standing. He reached up and gripped the handle to the sword on his back and grinned down at her. He was the predator and she was the prey.

"Come on, Itachi! How long are we going to sit here and wait, huh? I say we just start hacking away at her legs until she tells us what we need to know. That way you won't be wasting any of your precious chakra on this brat," he chuckled menacingly.

"No, Kisame," Itachi's smooth voice cut in, "I will retrieve the information once my chakra stores have been replenished. There is no need for useless violence." It was the first time Yuki had heard him speak since waking up in the cave. It did little to calm her nerves. Kisame huffed in response and lowered his hand, but the sadistic look in his eyes didn't fade.

"If you say so, but remember we're on a schedule. Leader will be wanting to hear back from us soon." Itachi hummed.

"Then I suppose the best course of action would be for you to report in while I handle this." Kisame finally turned away from Yuki to glower down at the elder Uchiha.

"And what do I say when Leader asks about your absence?"

"The usual," Itachi dismissed, waving his hand. Kisame shook his head and with a final "Good luck, kid," he left them alone in the cave. Yuki's heart made the final leap into her throat.

_Wonderful. _

Itachi sat several feet away from her to the side with his eyes closed. A position he had kept since she'd woken up. And one Yuki hoped he would keep. They stayed silent for several minutes, though to her it felt like hours. She was trying hard to regulate her breathing so it wouldn't fill the silence, but was failing miserably.

"Relax," Itachi suddenly spoke. The single word had taken her by surprise so much that it almost caused Yuki to cry out. She was grateful the Uchiha's eyes were closed to the surprise on her face.

"Relax? How the Hell am I supposed to relax?" She spoke bitterly.

"Understandable," Itachi opened his eyes revealing deep brown irises opposed to the blood red Yuki had expected, "But I assure you, Yuki Suzume. All I want is to talk."

* * *

Sasuke was surrounded in darkness. It felt like some unnatural force had taken hold of his mind and was keeping him there, the heavy weight deterring him from trying to wake. Occasionally he could hear voices echoing through the void, but his head was too filled with fog for him to process the words. Somewhere deep within the darkness a part of him was raging. He would catch glimpses of emotion and sometimes even a few images, but nothing solid. There was something he had to do, of that he was sure. Something big. And he was missing it. He couldn't tell how long he'd been in the dark. It felt like weeks. Maybe it was weeks. Maybe it was only a few hours. It was too hard to tell. And then suddenly that raging part of him leapt to the surface. He remembered Itachi. Sasuke remembered every little detail about their 'fight' and the situation he had ended up in shortly after. And he remembered Yuki. She hadn't been present when he'd been conscious, but he knew the girl was following behind him closely. What if- He was suddenly blinded by the light of the room as his eyes finally cracked open. He confused at first, but as he sat up everything came back to him once more. Sakura threw herself at him and enveloped Sasuke in a tight hug. He scanned over the rest of the room noting Naruto, a younger woman with pig, and an older blonde woman all looking at him in concern. Well, except for the idiot. He was grinning ear to ear as if he'd accomplished something great. Tykell was lying beside him, his head resting in his lap. He wagged his tail slightly when Sasuke's eyes locked with his own and it was only then that he acknowledged the absence of Kakashi and Yuki. Sasuke's eyes widened in realization.

_Yuki had been right behind me,_ he twisted his gaze to follow the blonde woman as she made her way through the curtain where Kakashi was unconscious in bed. Still no Yuki.

"Where," he rasped out. Naruto's proud look fell instantly and Sakura tensed. Sasuke's chest tightened.

"Where is Yuki?" He finished, his voice regaining strength. His teammates remained silent. Just as he was about to demand the answer again, Jiraiya slowly stepped into the room. Sasuke met the man's weary gaze, letting his inner rage seep into his glare.

"_He_ took her. I couldn't keep up with them and watch over Naruto at the same time. I'm sorry." By the end of the Sanin's statement Sasuke wasn't even listening.

_He took her. _The words echoed in his head. Itachi had Yuki.

_No,_ panic burst in his chest, _no!_ Sasuke leapt out of bed and made a beeline for the window, ignoring the cries of his teammates to stop. But before he had a chance to reach the closed glass a strong hand grasped his ankle and forced him to the ground.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" It was the blonde woman.

"Get off me!" He kicked at her with his free leg, but the blow was skilfully blocked and he was thrown into the wall. He needed to leave. He had to get to Yuki. Reason had long been replaced by the horrific realization that Itachi was about to take another person from him. And this was _much_ different than the threat of his brother hunting down Naruto. This was Yuki. The blonde woman was barking orders at him again, but he wasn't listening. Sasuke made another attempt at escape, this time through the open door, but the woman had blocked his path again. By this time the rest of his team had joined in and were helping restrain him. His struggling was slowly growing weaker and weaker, as if his strength was being taken from him. It wasn't until he saw darkness in the corner of his eyes that Sasuke realized the blonde woman was using medical jutsu to sedate him.

_No,_ he thought helplessly as his body went slack in his team's hold. His last thought was of Yuki's face in the clearing before he'd left her. He should've been there. He should've been strong enough to protect her.

* * *

Kakashi withheld a sigh at the sight before him. Naruto and Sakura were currently tag teaming against an irritated Tsunade who was once again insisting that Sasuke be kept sedated. He had decided to remain silent in all the commotion, seeing as he agreed too much with both sides. Logically, it was the best option to keep Sasuke under control. There was no doubt in the Copy Nin's mind that the boy would try and run off again the second he had a chance. But as the Sensei of Team Seven, Kakashi wanted nothing more than for the Uchiha to be awake. He deserved to be apart of the effort to find their fourth member. Infact, Kakashi wanted them all to be out there contributing to the search. Yuki's kidnapping was causing him more anxiety than he could've ever imagined. He couldn't help but blame himself. It was _his _job as her Sensei to protect her. Kakashi had promised them all in the Land of Waves that he would die before he let any of them get hurt. Some job he'd been doing. His team seemed to be spending more time in hospitals than training lately. Just like their were currently... His thoughts were interrupted when Naruto let out a frustrated growl.

"Why won't you let us go find her? Yuki is a member of Team Seven and our friend!" He shouted.

"And what about Sasuke? It's not fair that he's being punished for this!" Sakura chimed in. Tsunade folded her arms.

"He's being punished for acting like an idiot and trying to run off! And what makes you think that a couple of Genin could do a better job of tracking Yuki down than the Anbu and Jonin squads we already have out, huh? You're better off being patient like the rest of us."

"You expect me to just sit here while those bastards are doing who-knows-what to Yuki? No way Grandma! Either you give me permission to leave or I'll do it without- I _will _find her! Believe it!" Naruto swung his fists into a fighting stance.

"Me too!" Sakura stood from the chair beside Sasuke's bed.

"What part of 'You'll only get in the way' don't you understand, Brat? There's nothing you can do. You need to get that through your thick skull and listen for once."

"No!" Naruto grit out, "I will _never _abandon a comrade. Even if it kills me I will not just _sit here_. Because in this world those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." He finished his rant with a challenging glare and Kakashi felt his chest swell with pride. Yes they were dysfunctional, rowdy, and irritating to be around, but they were a team. _His_ team. And he wasn't going to go against his own beliefs.

"Lady Hokage," He finally stepped in, "I agree with my students. I can't stand around waiting and I won't make these three do it either. We're a team and we'll complete this mission as one." Tsunade sighed in frustration, but the stern look on her face softened a bit when Tykell let out a weak whine. The hound was curled by Sasuke's side and refused to move. He'd been that way since they had both been returned to the village unconscious by an overenthusiastic Gai. Kakashi couldn't blame him.

"Very well, you've convinced me," Tsunade said in defeat. Naruto and Sakura let out excited cheers. Anticipation was making Kakashi's fingers itch. He was going to find these Akatsuki and take back his student. And he was sure Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were going to make them pay.

* * *

Yuki shivered and buried her nose deeper in the scratchy brown fabric of the old cloak Itachi had given her, pulling the hood up over her head. The Uchiha wore a similar garment, having long ago stashed his Akatsuki cloak. It was smart. Red clouds on black fabric weren't exactly subtle. They'd be spotted a mile away if he was traveling in that getup. Though Yuki could bet it was warmer than the thin material they wore now. It was cold where they were going. That was all the information she'd been given about their destination and Itachi hadn't been lying. The two had been on the move for three days since Kisame had left them in the cave. Each step so far had made Yuki want to scream more and more at her own stupidity, but for some reason she kept moving forward. She wondered if this counted as her aiding a rouge shinobi. She _was_, after all, following Itachi of her own free will. He _had _given her the chance to return to the Leaf Village. But something he said while they were talking in the cave had caught her attention. In the end her curiosity beat out her logic. So there she was nearly freezing to death, following one of the Leaf's most wanted to a 'Better place to discuss this matter' as he had put it. In all honesty, Yuki could understand why he wanted to wait until they were in a more secure place before elaborating on this idea of his. There had to be little privacy when one worked for an organization like the Akatsuki.

"It's just up ahead," Itachi called from in front of her. He slowed his run to a walk, Yuki following suit, "It would be best if these people didn't know we were shinobi." Yuki nodded her understanding. They walked for a few more minutes before a small village came into view in the distance. It was a cute little town, more of a small gathering of huts and meger shops than anything else, but the people seemed mery as they approached. Itachi pulled the hood from his head and greeted a few people as they passed.

"This town survives off of herding Yak. The younger family members spend most of the year out with the herds and in bigger towns trading the furs for needed supplies," Itachi explained as he lead her to a cozy looking hut at the far end of the village.

"It seems peaceful," Yuki commented.

"It is." Itachi concluded, unlocking the front door to the hut and gestured for her to enter the small space within, "It has remained untouched by the horrors of the Shinobi world. I would like for it to remain that way." Itachi's unspoken words hung in the air around the statement.

_Tell no one of this place. _Yuki nodded again, shifting awkwardly as Itachi worked to start a fire in silence. Once the flames had risen and were stocked, he stood, dusted off his pants and gestured to a table and chairs in the corner of the room. Yuki sat as instructed, fiddling with her hands absently. Itachi then filled a tea pot with water and hung it to boil over the fire, setting two cup on the table before taking a seat himself.

"How did you find this place?" Yuki questioned, desperate to fill the endless quite that surrounded the man in front of her.

"It was years ago. I was running," Itachi answered. Yuki guessed he wouldn't elaborate, so she didn't dig any further.

"I come here when I need time to think... to get away from everything." He continued. The confession surprised her.

"Understandable," She muttered. His words from days earlier repeated themselves in her head as she watched him fix up the two cups of tea.

"_Tell me, Yuki, do you care for your village?"_

"_Of course I do!"_

"_Then naturally your enemy is the Akatsuki." Yuki nodded slowly._

"_And how far would you go to bring down your village's enemies?" Itachi continued ominously. _

"_As far as it would take," Yuki said determinedly. _

"_Then it seems you and I share a similar goal: the demise of the Akatsuki. But this is not the place to discuss such things. We need to move and quickly. If you wish to return to the village, be my guest. Just know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity." _

"So," Yuki spoke up as Itachi handed her one of the steaming cups, "What exactly is this 'opportunity' you were talking about?" Itachi locked eyes with her.

"I would like to offer you a deal, Yuki Suzume. I'll help you and in return you help me. The end result with be the inevitable downfall of the Akatsuki." Yuki sipped at the warm liquid gratefully, mulling over the Uchiha's words.

"And what's the catch?" She questioned out of habit. There always was one. And she was sure she wasn't going to like it either. But, Yuki had a feeling she would go along with it anyway. Itachi Uchiha had a strange way of convincing her to do crazy things.

* * *

**-A/N-**

**I was going to add more at the end, but I decided against it... twice. Thanks for reading!**

**-A/N-**


End file.
